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| {{Short description|2025 lynching of Hindu worker in Bangladesh}}
| | #REDIRECT [[Lynching of Dipu Chandra Das]] |
| {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2026}}
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| {{Infobox civilian attack
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| | title = Lynching of Dipu Chandra Das
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| | partof = the [[2025 Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence]] and [[December 2025 Bangladesh violence|December 2025 political violence]]
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| | image =
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| | caption =
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| | location = Square Masterbari area, [[Bhaluka Upazila|Bhaluka]], Mymensingh, Bangladesh
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| | coordinates =
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| | date = 18 December 2025
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| | time = Around 9:00 pm
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| | timezone = [[Bangladesh Standard Time|BST]] ([[UTC+06:00]])
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| | type = [[Mob violence]], [[lynching]]
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| | fatalities = 1
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| | victim = Dipu Chandra Das (aged 27)
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| | perpetrators = Mob of 140–150 people (per police report)
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| | motive = Alleged [[blasphemy]]
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| }}
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| On 18 December 2025, Dipu Chandra Das, a [[Hindus|Hindu]] garment worker in [[Bhaluka Upazila|Bhaluka]], Bangladesh, was brutally beaten, hanged from a tree, and [[Death by burning|set on fire]] by a large Islamist mob in a [[Anti-Hindu sentiment|Hinduphobic]] hate crime. He was accused of making derogatory remarks about [[Islam]] at a factory event, though investigators later reported no evidence was found to support the allegation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 December 2025 |title=Lynching of Hindu man in Mymensingh: No direct evidence of derogatory remarks found, says RAB |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/lynching-hindu-man-mymensingh-no-direct-evidence-derogatory-remarks-found-says-rab |access-date=30 December 2025 |website=The Business Standard |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 December 2025 |title=No evidence found of derogatory remarks by lynched garment worker: Rab |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/news/no-evidence-found-derogatory-remarks-lynched-garment-worker-rab-4062731 |access-date=30 December 2025 |website=The Daily Star |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=21 December 2025 |title=Dipu Das forced to resign and handed over to enraged mob: RAB |url=https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/ctr8y8t4z3 |access-date=30 December 2025 |website=Prothomalo |language=en}}</ref>
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| ==Background==
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| {{see also|December 2025 Bangladesh violence}}
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| The lynching took place against a backdrop of escalating Islamist violence in Bangladesh following the death of [[Sharif Osman Hadi]], a prominent youth leader who died on 18 December 2025 from gunshot wounds. Hadi had been a key figure in the [[2024 Bangladesh protests]] that led to the ousting of Prime Minister [[Sheikh Hasina]] in August 2024. His death sparked further violent unrest across the country.<ref name="nyt2">{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/19/world/asia/bangladesh-riots-student-killing.html |title=Riots Erupt in Bangladesh After the Killing of a Student Leader |last1=Hasnat |first1=Saif |last2=Travelli |first2=Alex |date=19 December 2025 |website=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=25 December 2025 |quote=On Friday, while protesters took to the streets in anger over Mr. Hadi’s death, the police reported that a mob had lynched a Hindu laborer in Mymensingh. The victim, Dipu Chandra Das, 27, was accused of blasphemy, the police said, and then tied to a tree and burned alive.}}</ref><ref name="statesman">{{cite web |title=Sharif Osman Hadi death: Bangladesh urges citizens to 'resist mob violence', condemns lynching of Hindu man |url=https://www.thestatesman.com/world/sharif-osman-hadi-death-bangladesh-urges-citizens-to-resist-mob-violence-condemns-lynching-of-hindu-man-1503528007.html |website=The Statesman |date=19 December 2025 |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref>
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| Following the removal of Sheikh Hasina's government, Bangladesh witnessed a surge in [[2025 Bangladesh anti-Hindu violence|targeted violence against the Hindu minority]] fueled by [[Islamism|Islamist]] groups.<ref name="thehindu">{{cite web |title=Hindu man lynched to death in Bangladesh over alleged blasphemy |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/hindu-man-lynched-to-death-in-bangladesh-over-alleged-blasphemy/article70416929.ece |website=The Hindu |date=20 December 2025 |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> According to the 2022 Bangladesh national census, there were approximately 13.1 million Hindus in Bangladesh, constituting about 7.95% of the country's population.<ref name="sundayguardian">{{cite web |title=Bangladesh violence live updates, Sharif Osman Hadi's death |url=https://sundayguardianlive.com/bangladesh-violence-live-updates-sharif-osman-hadis-death-mujibur-rehmans-house-torched-who-is-dipu-chandra-das-what-is-happening-in-bangladesh-what-is-the-reason-for-unrest-in-bangladesh-162286/ |website=Sunday Guardian Live |date=20 December 2025 |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref>
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| Dipu Chandra Das was a garment factory worker employed at Pioneer Knit Composite Factory in the Square Masterbari area of [[Bhaluka Upazila]].<ref name="dailystar">{{cite web |title=Mob kills man over 'hurting religious sentiments' |url=https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/mob-kills-man-over-hurting-religious-sentiments-4062241 |website=The Daily Star |date=20 December 2025 |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref><ref name="tbsnews">{{cite web |title=Hindu man lynched, body set ablaze over blasphemy allegation in Mymensingh: BBC Bangla |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/crime/hindu-man-lynched-body-set-ablaze-over-blasphemy-allegation-mymensingh-bbc-bangla |website=The Business Standard |date=19 December 2025 |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref> He was a 27-year-old resident of Mukamiakanda village in [[Tarakanda Upazila]] of [[Mymensingh District]]. He was married and the father of a three-year-old daughter.<ref name="dailystar"/> Das had been living as a tenant in the Dubalia Para area of Bhaluka.<ref name="indiatv">{{cite web |title=Hindu man lynched in Bangladesh over blasphemy charges amid unrest over youth leader's death |url=https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/world/hindu-man-lynched-in-bangladesh-over-blasphemy-charges-amid-unrest-over-youth-leader-sharif-osman-hadi-s-death-2025-12-19-1022413 |website=India TV News |date=19 December 2025 |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref>
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| ==Lynching==
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| On the evening of 18 December 2025, Dipu Chandra Das was accused of [[Islam and blasphemy|insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad]] during a casual conversation among co-workers near closing time at the Pioneer Knitwear factory. The allegation spread rapidly, inciting Islamist fury. CCTV footage showed Das clocking out roughly 30 minutes after the conversation, before returning to the factory floor approximately two hours later. By around 6pm, a mob had gathered both inside the factory and outside on the street. The crowd that began at several hundred at the factory gates, demanding Das be handed over, swelled to more than a thousand.<ref name="BBC 16 February"/>
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| Factory management had alerted police, but even as officers arrived, they failed to protect him from the mob. The Islamists eventually seized Das. He was beaten outside the factory before his body was dragged more than a kilometre through crowded streets to a busy highway, tied by the neck to a tree, and set on fire before hundreds of onlookers. Police estimated that around 150 people were directly involved in the attack.<ref name="BBC 16 February">{{cite web |last=Biswas |first=Soutik |date=16 February 2026 |title='Dragged out and set on fire' – the Bangladesh mob killing that shocked the world |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cj3vve6v17xo |publisher=BBC |access-date=3 March 2026}}</ref> Videos widely shared on social media showed mobs chanting "[[Takbir|Nara-e-Takbeer, Allahu Akbar]]" while kicking and beating Das's unconscious body. Another video showed his naked and hanging body surrounded by a cheering, dancing mob.<ref name="ABC 4 January">{{cite web |last=Choahan |first=Neelima |last2=Hossain |first2=S M Faiyaz |date=4 January 2026 |title=Bangladeshi Hindus on edge as Islamic extremists target minority community |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-01-04/bangladeshi-hindu-minority-fearful-after-lynching-of-worker/106192790 |publisher=ABC News |access-date=3 March 2026}}</ref>
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| ==Investigation==
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| Police recovered Das's body and sent it to [[Mymensingh Medical College|Mymensingh Medical College Hospital]] for a post-mortem examination.<ref name="dailystar"/> Das's brother, Apu Chandra Das, filed a case with Bhaluka Police Station accusing 140–150 unnamed persons.<ref name="dailystar"/>
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| The [[Rapid Action Battalion]] (RAB) stated that there was no direct evidence of "religious defamation." RAB also found no one who personally heard or witnessed anything related to religious defamation.<ref name="bbc">{{cite web |date=20 December 2025 |title=ময়মনসিংহের ভালুকায় হিন্দু ধর্মাবলম্বী যুবককে পিটিয়ে পুড়িয়ে হত্যা, কী ঘটেছিলো সেখানে |url=https://www.bbc.com/bengali/articles/c98n2en1ppmo |access-date=20 December 2025 |website=BBC News বাংলা |language=bn}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=No evidence of religious slurs in Mymensingh killing, 10 held: RAB | website=jagonews24.com | date=20 December 2025 | url=https://www.jagonews24.com/en/national/news/88208 | access-date=23 December 2025}}</ref> By 22 December, authorities had arrested a total of 12 people, including two of Das's co-workers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=12 accused put on three-day remand over Dipu Chandra Das murder |url=http://www.daily-sun.com/bangladesh/847527/12-accused-put-on-three-day-remand-over-dipu-chandra-das-murder |access-date=23 December 2025 |website=Daily Sun |language=en}}</ref> Md. Sohel Rana was arrested later for allegedly inciting workers and abusing the dead body.<ref>{{Cite web |last=bdnews24.com |title=দিপু হত্যা: ‘লাশের উপর নির্যাতন’ চালানো সোহেল গ্রেপ্তার |url=https://bangla.bdnews24.com/samagrabangladesh/52d958df07c8 |access-date=15 March 2026 |website=দিপু হত্যা: ‘লাশের উপর নির্যাতন’ চালানো সোহেল গ্রেপ্তার |language=en}}</ref>
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| ==Reactions==
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| ===Domestic===
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| The lynching was openly celebrated by many in Bangladesh, including a prospective parliamentary candidate who praised the killers for bringing "joy to the hearts of the people."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/world/asia/bangladesh-hindu-muslim-lynching.html |title=Lynching of a Hindu in Bangladesh Fans Fears of Rising Intolerance |last1=Hasnat |first1=Saif |last2=Mashal |first2=Mujib |date=22 December 2025 |website=New York Times |access-date=22 December 2025 |quote=But the religiously motivated murder of Mr. Das was openly celebrated by many. "You have brought joy to the hearts of the people," Jubayer Ahmad Tasrif, who is planning to run in parliamentary elections, said in a video he posted on Facebook.}}</ref>
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| ===International===
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| The [[Ministry of External Affairs (India)|Ministry of External Affairs of India]] expressed deep concern over the barbaric killing and ongoing attacks on Hindu minorities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 December 2025 |title=India urges justice for Dipu killing, voices concern over attacks on minorities in Bangladesh |url=https://www.tbsnews.net/bangladesh/india-urges-justice-dipu-chandra-das-killing-voices-concern-over-minority-attacks |access-date=25 December 2025 |website=The Business Standard |language=en}}</ref> Indian politicians strongly condemned the violence as part of a pattern of targeting Hindus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 2025 |title=Pawan Kalyan, Priyanka Gandhi Condemn Lynching of Hindu Worker in Bangladesh |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/video/bangladesh-violence-pawan-kalyan-priyanka-gandhi-condemn-lynching-of-hindu-man-deepu-das-ytvd-2838920-2025-12-20 |access-date=20 December 2025 |website=India Today |language=en}}</ref><ref name="thenewsmill">{{cite web |title=Congress MP Shashi Tharoor questions Bangladesh over the mob lynching of Hindu man Dipu Chandra Das |url=https://thenewsmill.com/2025/12/congess-mp-shashi-tharoor-questions-bangladesh-over-the-mob-lynching-of-hindu-man-dipu-chandra-das/ |website=The News Mill |date=20 December 2025 |access-date=20 December 2025}}</ref>
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| The [[United States Department of State|US State Department]] condemned the lynching as "horrific" and urged protection of minorities.<ref>{{Cite web |title=US Condemns Lynching Of Hindu Worker Dipu Chandra Das In Bangladesh, Urges Protection Of Minorities |url=https://www.freepressjournal.in/world/us-condemns-lynching-of-hindu-worker-dipu-chandra-das-in-bangladesh-urges-protection-of-minorities |access-date=28 December 2025 |website=Free Press Journal |language=en}}</ref> US lawmakers highlighted concerns over attacks on Hindus and misuse of blasphemy accusations.<ref>{{cite web | title=US lawmaker seeks briefing from Marco Rubio on killings of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh | website=Firstpost | date=24 December 2025 | url=https://www.firstpost.com/world/us-lawmaker-seeks-briefing-from-marco-rubio-on-killings-of-hindu-minorities-in-bangladesh-13962530.html | access-date=28 December 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last= |date=28 December 2025 |title=U.S. lawmaker condemns killing of Hindu garment factory worker in Bangladesh |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-lawmaker-condemns-killing-of-hindu-garment-factory-worker-in-bangladesh/article70445609.ece |access-date=28 December 2025 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref>
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| [[Amnesty International]] called for action against those responsible for the violence rooted in blasphemy allegations.<ref>{{Cite web |date=20 December 2025 |title=Those responsible for violence and killings must be brought to justice without delay: Amnesty |url=https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/njlgpdiu40 |access-date=21 December 2025 |website=Prothomalo |language=en}}</ref>
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| ===Protests===
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| Protests demanding justice for Dipu Chandra Das erupted in Bangladeshi universities and across Indian cities, with demonstrators highlighting the systemic persecution of Hindus by Islamist mobs. Rallies were also held in the UK and Nepal.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Protests held across Nepal against killing of Hindus in Bangladesh |url=https://www.lokmattimes.com/international/protests-held-across-nepal-against-killing-of-hindus-in-bangladesh/ |date=27 December 2025 |access-date=11 June 2026 |website=Lokmat Times |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=UK condemns murders of Dipu Das and Amrit Mondal in Bangladesh |url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/uk/uk-condemns-murders-of-dipu-das-and-amrit-mondal-in-bangladesh/articleshow/126259006.cms |date=31 December 2025 |access-date=11 June 2026 |website=The Times of India |language=en}}</ref>
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| ==See also==
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| * [[Bangladesh post-resignation violence (2024–2026)]]
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| * [[December 2025 Bangladesh violence]]
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| * [[Hinduism in Bangladesh]]
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| * [[Human rights in Bangladesh]]
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| * [[Persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh]]
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| ==References==
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| {{reflist}}
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| [[Category:2025 in Bangladesh]]
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| [[Category:Lynching deaths in Asia]]
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| [[Category:Anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh]]
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| [[Category:Bhaluka Upazila]]
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| [[Category:Deaths by person in Bangladesh]]
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| [[Category:Deaths by beating]]
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| [[Category:Attack over accusations of blasphemy]]
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| [[Category:December 2025 in Asia]]
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| [[Category:Aftermath of the July Uprising]]
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| [[Category:Violence against men in Bangladesh]]
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| [[Category:Lynchings in Bangladesh]]
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| [[Category:Extrajudicial killings in Bangladesh]]
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