Govt must take up with Bangladesh issue of safety of minorities: Priyanka on Hindu man's lynching

New Delhi, Dec 19 (PTI) Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday termed as "extremely disturbing" the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh over alleged blasphemy and urged the Indian government to raise the issue of the safety of Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist minorities with the neighbouring country.

The Hindu man was lynched and his body set on fire over alleged blasphemy in Bangladesh, in the latest incident of violence against the religious minority in the country.

The deceased, identified as 25-year-old Dipu Chandra Das, was a factory worker in Mymensingh city, the Bangla Tribune news portal reported on Friday.

"The news of the brutal murder of Hindu youth Dipu Chandra Das by a mob in Bangladesh is extremely disturbing. In any civilized society, discrimination, violence, and murder based on religion, caste, or identity are crimes against humanity," Priyanka Gandhi said in a post in Hindi on X.

"The Indian government should take note of the increasing violence against Hindu, Christian, and Buddhist minorities in the neighboring country and raise the issue of their safety and security forcefully with the Bangladeshi government," she said.

In a statement, the interim government of Bangladesh on Friday condemned the lynching of the Hindu man in Mymensingh city, saying there is no space for such violence in the new Bangladesh. "The perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared," it added.

Das was first beaten up by a mob outside the factory over blasphemy allegations on Thursday night and hanged from a tree, police said.

"After the incident, the angry crowd left the body of the deceased on the side of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and set it on fire. This stopped traffic on both sides of the highway," Inspector (Investigation) of Bhaluka Model Police Station Abdul Malek was quoted as saying by the news portal.

The police recovered the body and sent it to the Mymensingh Medical College morgue for autopsy.

Malek added that the incident created tension in the area, and the police are trying to control the situation.

The video of the incident went viral on social media.

"We strongly and unequivocally condemn all acts of violence, intimidation, arson, and destruction of properties," the interim government said.

"At this critical hour, we call upon every citizen to honour Hadi by rejecting and resisting violence, incitement and hatred," it said, referring to the death of the prominent July Uprising leader six days after he was shot by masked gunmen in Dhaka.

The Hindu population in Bangladesh has been affected by a series of incidents against minority communities in the country after the ouster of then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina in August last year. PTI ASK ZMN