New Delhi: In yet another chilling incident, 25-year-old Hindu youth Mithun Sarkar was brutally drowned in the Naogaon district of Bangladesh, marking the seventh murder of a minority Hindu in just 20 days.
Radical elements are blamed for this gruesome act, intensifying fears among the community already reeling from relentless persecution.
The spate of violence shows no signs of abating. On January 2, Sati Ranjan Das was killed in Laxmipur, with his paddy crop torched. The next day saw the horrific murder and burning of Khokan Chandra Das in Shariatpur, alongside burglaries and hostage-taking at Hindu homes in Chattogram and Komila. January 4 brought the robbery of gold trader Shubo Poddar and the brutal rape and torture of a 40-year-old Hindu widow in Jhenidah – her head shaved and tied to a tree. Rana Pratap Bairagi fell victim on January 5.
Last December alone witnessed at least 51 attacks: 10 murders, widespread land grabs, arson on homes, temples and businesses, false blasphemy charges, and attempted rapes. The Bangladesh Minority Forum has sounded the alarm over this surging communal menace, linking it possibly to upcoming elections and criticising the lack of strong administrative or international intervention.
As an atmosphere of dread grips minorities under the Yunus government, questions loom: Are these isolated crimes or a systematic campaign?
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