India has responded sharply to the latest killing of a Hindu man in Bangladesh, warning that the growing number of attacks targeting minority communities is deeply disturbing and cannot be brushed aside. Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said New Delhi had taken “serious note” of recent developments across the border and was closely tracking the law-and-order situation, describing the continuing violence against minorities as a matter of grave concern.
“We are all aware of the recent developments in Bangladesh. We have been closely following them,” Jaiswal said. “The unremitting hostility against minorities in Bangladesh, including Hindus, Christians and Buddhists, at the hands of extremists is a matter of grave concern.” Condemning the most recent killing, the spokesperson said India expected swift justice. “We condemn the recent gruesome killing of a Hindu youth in Mymensingh and expect that the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to justice,” he said.
Jaiswal cited figures compiled by independent sources, saying the scale of violence could not be ignored. “Over 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities, including cases of killings, arsons and land grabs, have been documented during the tenure of the interim government,” he said, adding that such incidents “cannot be brushed aside as mere media exaggerations or dismissed as political violence”.
The remarks came a day after another Hindu man was beaten to death in Bangladesh, adding to a growing list of violent incidents involving members of minority communities in recent weeks. According to Bangladeshi media reports, the latest killing took place in Pangsha upazila of Rajbari district, about 145 km west of Dhaka. The victim, identified as Amrit Mondal, was allegedly assaulted by local residents following accusations of extortion.
Police told The Daily Star that Mondal was suspected of leading a criminal gang involved in extortion and other illegal activities. On the day of the incident, he and several associates allegedly tried to extort money from a local household, triggering a confrontation. Mondal was beaten and left critically injured before police arrived and rushed him to hospital, where doctors declared him dead around 2 am. His body was sent to Rajbari Sadar Hospital for a post-mortem examination. Police said most of Mondal’s associates fled the area, though one person was arrested and firearms were recovered. Investigators also said Mondal had at least two criminal cases registered against him, including a murder charge.
The Rajbari killing followed closely on the heels of another lynching in Mymensingh that sparked widespread outrage. In that incident, a 25-year-old Hindu factory worker, Dipu Chandra Das, was attacked by a mob over allegations of blasphemy. According to police and local media, Das was first beaten outside a factory late at night before being hanged from a tree. His body was later left by the side of the Dhaka–Mymensingh highway and set on fire, bringing traffic on both sides of the road to a standstill. Videos of the killing circulated widely on social media, intensifying public anger.
Bangladesh’s interim government, led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, condemned the lynching in a statement carried by the state-run BSS news agency. The administration said it did not support “any kind of illegal activities, mass beatings or violence”. At the same time, the interim government sought to distinguish the Rajbari incident from communal violence, maintaining that it was linked to alleged extortion and what it described as terrorist activities. It said legal action would be taken against all those directly or indirectly involved in the killing.
