Bangladesh: Hindu Youth Drowns After Jumping Into Canal To Escape Mob Over Theft Suspicion | World News

A Hindu teenager was strangled in Bangladesh’s Naogaon district after being chased by a gang on suspicion of theft, police said on Wednesday.

Naogaon SP Mohammad Tariqul Islam told ANI that the youth, identified as Mithun Sarkar, jumped into a nearby waterhole to escape the crowd in Mohadevpur area and died there. Authorities launched an investigation into the incident and sent the body for autopsy.

“In the northern district of Naogaon in Bangladesh, in a district called Mohadevpur, a Hindu youth named Mithun Sarkar was chased by a gang who accused him of theft. He jumped into the water and died after jumping. The police was informed and they recovered his body with the help of the fire brigade,” Naogoan Superintendent of Police (SP) Mohammad Tariqul Islam told ANI over phone on Wednesday.

Without going into much detail, Islam added, “We are conducting an autopsy on Mithun Sarkar’s body and investigating the case.”

Violence against minorities increased during the reign of Muhammad Yunus, Chief Advisor to the Interim Government of Bangladesh. Violence increased after Osman Hadi’s death; He was shot during the campaign and later died while receiving treatment in Singapore.

At least 51 violent incidents were reported in December alone.

These include 10 cases of murder, 10 cases of theft and robbery, 23 cases of rape, looting and arson of houses, workplaces, temples and land, four cases of arrest and torture on false charges of blasphemy and being a “RAW agent”, one case of attempted rape and three cases of assault, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council said in a statement.

Previous incidents of violence against minorities included the hacking and burning to death of businessman Khokan Chandra Das in Shariatpur on January 3. At dawn on the same day, Milan Das’ family was held hostage during a robbery in Ward No. 4 of Amuchia Union under Boalkhali Upazila in Chattogram.

Early on December 19, Dipu Chandra Das was lynched to death and set on fire for allegedly making abusive remarks.

India has expressed concern over brutality against minorities; but Bangladesh called New Delhi’s concerns “exaggerated and misleading”, accusing India of portraying isolated incidents of crime as organized religious persecution.

(via ANI Inputs)