Bangladesh is grappling with a severe escalation of religiously motivated violence, with Amrit Mandal becoming the latest Hindu victim of mob brutality. The 29-year-old man was lynched on Thursday in the Rajbari district, reportedly after being accused of extortion by a group of extremists. The attackers allegedly beat Mandal to death when he tried to escape their assault.
This reprehensible act occurs just days after the similarly violent death of Deepu Chandra Das, another Hindu man who was beaten to death by a mob in Mymensingh. Das had been falsely accused of making disparaging remarks about Islam, leading to his fatal beating and subsequent alleged desecration of his body. These repeated incidents are fueling fears among the country’s minority Hindu population.
The current turmoil appears to have been exacerbated by the death of extremist leader Shariq Usman Hadi, which spurred protests that targeted various institutions, including those with ties to India. While law enforcement has promised to bring Amrit Mandal’s killers to justice and made arrests in the previous case, the ongoing violence against Hindus raises serious questions about the state’s capacity to protect its citizens from extremist elements and ensure communal harmony.