Bangladesh: Hindu man dies after jumping into canal to escape mob in Naogaon

A 25-year-old Hindu man died after jumping into a canal to escape a mob in Bangladesh’s Naogaon district. The incident is the latest in a series of violent attacks targeting minorities, raising concerns over growing communal violence in the country.

Dhaka: As violence against minorities continues to escalate in Bangladesh, another Hindu man died after jumping into a canal in a bid to save his life from a mob that accused him of robbery in Mohadevpur upazila of Naogaon district, local media reported.

The victim, identified as 25-year-old Mithun Sarkar, lost his life in the disturbing incident, which unfolded on Tuesday afternoon in the Chakgori area of the upazila.

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Citing local and police sources, Bangladesh’s Bengali newspaper Daily Manobkantha reported that Mithun was chased by a local mob on Tuesday afternoon, over allegations of robbery.

In an effort to escape, he jumped into a deep canal nearby, where the strong current swept him away.

Reports suggest that a team from Mohadevpur Police Station, the Fire Service, and Civil Defence quickly reached the spot upon receiving the information and launched a rescue operation.

After several hours, the Fire Service diving team recovered Mithun from the water, but he was already dead.

Confirming the incident, Mohadevpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Shahidul Islam said, “According to initial information, the young man jumped into the canal after being chased on suspicion of robbery. We recovered his body with the help of the fire service. The matter is being investigated seriously, and further legal action will be taken after the autopsy.”

This marks the seventh incident in 19 days and the third incident this week, highlighting a disturbing surge in violence targeting Hindu communities throughout Bangladesh.

On Monday, two Hindu men were killed in separate incidents within 24 hours in Bangladesh.

The first victim, identified as 40-year-old Sarat Chakraborty Mani, was fatally attacked in Narsingdi district on Monday night, in Dhaka, with sharp weapons allegedly by an extremist armed religious group.

In the second incident, a Hindu businessman, 38-year-old Rana Pratap Bairagi, was shot dead in public in Monirampur Upazila of Jashore district.

Earlier on Saturday, another Hindu man, Khokon Chandra Das, died after being brutally attacked by a mob of miscreants in Damudya Upazila of Shariatpur district.

Last week, 40-year-old Bajendra Biswas was shot dead by a colleague in Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh district.

On December 24 last year, Bangladeshi media reported the killing of another Hindu youth, identified as 29-year-old Amrit Mondal, who was allegedly lynched by a mob in the Hossaindanga area of Kalimohar Union in Bangladesh.

Also on December 18 last year, a 25-year-old Hindu youth, Dipu Chandra Das, was brutally killed in a mob lynching incident over false blasphemy accusations by a Muslim coworker at his factory in Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh.

The mob killed Das and then hung his body from a tree before setting it on fire.

Bangladesh has witnessed escalating violence against minorities, including Hindus, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, sparking outrage among people and several human rights organisations across the globe.