Hindu businessman attacked with sharp weapons, set on fire in Bangladesh: Report

years after the killings of Dipu Chandra Das and Bajendra Biswas, another Hindu man has been injured after miscreants hacked and set him on fire in Bangladesh’s Damudya.

According to a report by Prathom Alo, petrol was poured on the 50-year-old Hindu businessman, identified as Khokon Chandra Das, and his body was set on fire. The incident occurred near Keurbhanga Bazar in Kaneshwar Union, Damudya, at around 9:30 PM on Wednesday, the report added.

The victim has been sent to Dhaka for advanced treatment.

Police sources quoted in the Prothom Alo report said that Khokon Chandra Das is a resident of Tilai village in Ward No. 3 of Koneshwar Union in Bangladesh. He runs a medicine and mobile banking business in Keurbhanga Bazar.

Das was returning home in a CNG-powered autorickshaw after closing his shop on Wednesday night, having collected the day's sales proceeds. Miscreants stopped the autorickshaw near Keurbhanga Bazar on the Damudya-Shariatpur road and allegedly assaulted him.

The group then reportedly attacked the victim with sharp weapons, injuring him before pouring petrol on his head and setting him on fire.

Das jumped into a pond on the side of the road to escape the attackers. The attackers fled the scene after locals raised an alarm. The victim was rescued and taken to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital around 10 PM, from where he was sent to Dhaka for better treatment.

“The person who was brought to the emergency department at night has injury marks on various parts of his body. He has been sent to Dhaka for advanced treatment as one of the injuries to his stomach is serious. He also has burn marks on his face, back of his head and hands,” Prothom Alo quoted Dr Nazrul Islam, a doctor at the emergency department of Shariatpur Sadar Hospital, as saying.

The fresh killings of members of the minority Hindu community comes in the wake of unrest following activist Osman Hadi last month. Bangladesh is in the middle of a political crisis, ever since Sheikh Hasina resigned as prime minister and fled the country after students-led protests in July-August 2024.

According to Seema Das, the wife of injured Khokon Chandra Das, the attackers tried to kill her husband as he had recognised two people from the group.

"My husband closes the shop every night and returns home with the money from the day's sales. Terrorists attacked him on Wednesday night. He recognized two of the attackers, which is why they hacked him to death, poured gasoline on his head and face and set him on fire. We have no enemies in the area. We have no dispute with anyone on any issue. We don't understand why the terrorists suddenly targeted my husband and attacked him," the victim's wife told Prothom Alo

Police are investigating the case and have identified two of the attackers, with efforts to arrest them ongoing.

"We went to the scene after receiving information about a terrorist attack on a businessman in Keurbhanga Bazar. The names of two of the attackers have been identified. Efforts are underway to arrest them. Efforts are being made to identify who else is involved in the incident," Damudya Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Rabiul Haque told Prothom Alo.

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