A 25-year-old Hindu man from Bangladesh lost his life after he jumped into a canal trying to escape the mob, which chased him on suspicion of theft, thus showing the insecurity faced by minorities in the country more vividly. The police recovered the body of the deceased, who was identified as Mithun Sarkar, from Bhandarpur village, shortly after the incident.
The incident gradually developed
People who saw the scene told local journalists that Mithun was accused by some villagers of stealing. The locals then started to chase him through the area. In his desperate attempts to get away from the locals, he jumped into a canal, but, as he was not a good swimmer, he drowned before the rescue team could reach him.
Actions taken by the police and the investigation
Mithun’s corpse was taken by police out of the canal on Tuesday afternoon, and now a probe into the situation that led to his death has been initiated. The law enforcers are viewing video footage and going through eyewitness reports in order to spot the people who constituted the mob, and also to find out if a formal theft complaint ever existed.
Incident of violence aimed at a specific group
Mithun’s demise takes place in the background of a series of attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh, which have become more frequent in recent weeks. Human rights organisations have reported numerous incidents, including killings, beatings, and burning of Hindu properties in December alone, which they consider as a part of a broader strategy to terrorise the minority communities.
Political context and worries
The increase in violence coincides with the time when Bangladesh is about to hold its first parliamentary elections after the 2024 coup that overthrew the Sheikh Hasina government, with voting set for February 12. Human rights advocates claim that the government’s neglect of the protection of the vulnerable population will not only encourage the mobs but also cause the communities to take even harder lines during the elections.
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