In a troubling incident highlighting rising mob violence in Bangladesh, 29-year-old Amrit Mondal, also known as Samrat, was brutally beaten to death by a local crowd in Rajbari district’s Pangsha upazila on Wednesday night. He was later rushed to the hospital in critical condition, where doctors pronounced him dead.
Authorities said Mondal and several associates had reportedly gone to a resident’s home to collect money, triggering a confrontation with locals. Police investigations indicate that the beating was linked to these alleged criminal activities rather than any communal tension. One alleged accomplice, Mohammad Selim, has been arrested, and police recovered a pistol and a pipe gun. Mondal was already facing multiple criminal cases, including extortion and murder, with active arrest warrants.
The interim government in Dhaka strongly condemned the killing while stressing it was not a communal attack. In an official statement, authorities called on the media and the public to avoid framing the incident as religiously motivated, labeling such claims as “baseless and driven by malicious intent.” Legal action will be taken against all involved in the lynching.
This tragedy comes shortly after another Hindu man, Dipu Chandra Das, was lynched in Mymensingh district over alleged blasphemy. His body was reportedly set on fire, sparking protests in Bangladesh and criticism from neighboring India. Seven arrests were made in that case.
Observers note that these incidents are occurring amid heightened political tensions in Bangladesh, following the death of student leader Sharif Osman Bin Hadi on December 18, which has already put the nation on edge over public order and minority safety.
While the government emphasizes the criminal nature of Mondal’s death, the repeated targeting of minority community members has raised concerns among human rights advocates. Local residents and community leaders are calling for calm and caution, urging people not to let fear or misinformation further inflame communal divisions.
