By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – Bangladesh Education Adviser Prof C R Abrar on Tuesday visited the family of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu worker lynched by Muslim extremists in Mymensingh last week to offer condolences and assure support, the Office of the Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus said in a statement.
Prof C R Abrar met Rabilal Das, father of Dipu Chandra Das, and assured him that justice would be delivered to his son, media reported.
“The Education Adviser reiterated that the killing was a heinous criminal act with no justification and no place in Bangladeshi society. Allegations, rumors, or differences of belief can never be an excuse for violence, and no individual has the right to take the law into their own hands,” the statement read.
He told the family that the Interim government remains fully committed to ensuring the safety, dignity, and protection of all citizens, regardless of religion, ethnicity, or background.
The Chief Adviser’s Office said 12 individuals have been arrested so far in connection with the brutal murder of Dipu Das. “Investigations are ongoing, and the Interim Government has directed that the case be pursued fully and without exception. Such acts of violence will be met with the full force of the law.”
On behalf of the Office of the Chief Adviser, Professor Abrar also confirmed that financial and welfare assistance would be provided to the family of Dipu Chandra Das.
Dipu Chandra Das, who worked at a garment factory in Mymensingh near Dhaka was lynched by a mob of extremists on the allegations of blasphemy. His body was hanged on a tree and burned as police failed to save him despite being informed about the incident.
The incident came after rising violence against Hindus and other minority groups in Bangladesh after the assassination of prominent youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi.
The lynching of Dipu Das has also triggered a wave of strong protests in India by the Opposition Congress and some right-wing organizations.
A large group of Congress workers gathered outside the Bangladesh High Commission in Kolkata and chanted slogans against the Yunus-led Interim government.
Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has condemned the lynching of Dipu Das and demanded that the Indian government should strongly raise the issue of violence against Hindus with the Bangladesh government.
