Dhaka: In yet another chilling attack on the Hindu minority in Bangladesh, 50-year-old trader Khokan Chandra Das has died from severe burn injuries after assailants poured petrol on him and set him alight, marking the fourth such killing in recent weeks.
Khokan, who ran a medicine and mobile banking shop in Kurubaga market, was returning home by auto-rickshaw a few days ago when unknown attackers stopped the vehicle. They assaulted him with sharp weapons before dousing his head with petrol and igniting it. In a desperate bid to save himself, the burning victim leapt into a nearby pond. Locals rushed him to hospital, but he succumbed to extensive burns covering most of his body.
His grieving wife, Sima Das, said her husband had no known enemies and expressed bewilderment over the motive behind the brutal killing.
This tragedy follows the recent murders of fellow Hindus, Dipu Das, Amrit Mandal, and Bijendra Biswas, heightening fears within the community. The West Bengal unit of India’s BJP condemned the incident on X, describing it as an assault by an “Islamist mob” and drawing parallels to similar violence against Bengali Hindus.
As Bangladesh heads towards elections amid rising political tensions, the spate of targeted attacks on minorities has sparked widespread outrage and urgent calls for protection. The growing list of victims underscores a deepening crisis of safety for Hindus in the nation.