DHAKA: In yet another heinous incident spotlighting the escalating attacks on minorities in Bangladesh, another Hindu man was brutally hacked and seriously injured by a mob of miscreants in Damudya upazila of Shariatpur district, before the assailants poured petrol on him and set him on fire, local media reported.
The victim, identified as 50-year-old Khokon Chandra Das, has been referred to Dhaka for advanced medical treatment after his condition deteriorated.
The incident occurred near Keurbhanga Bazar in Kaneshwar Union of Damudya late Wednesday.
Citing sources at Damudya police station, leading Bengali daily in Bangladesh, 'Prothom Alo', reported that Khokon Chandra Das runs a medicine and mobile banking business in Keurbhanga Bazar. He was returning home in a CNG-powered auto rickshaw after closing his shop on Wednesday night with the day's earnings when miscreants stopped the vehicle near Keurbhanga Bazar on the Damudya-Shariatpur road, hacked and injured him and then poured petrol on his head and set him on fire.
To escape the mob, Khokon Chandra Das jumped into a pond beside the road. He was reportedly rescued by the locals and then rushed to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital. After receiving first aid in the emergency department, he was sent to Dhaka at night for advanced medical treatment.
Earlier on December 18, a 25-year-old Hindu youth, Dipu Chandra Das, was brutally killed in a mob lynching incident over false blasphemy accusations by a Muslim coworker at his factory in Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh. The mob killed Das and then hung his body from a tree before setting it on fire.