Hindu Youth Burnt to Death in Bangladesh

Dhaka: A 25-year-old Hindu youth, Chanchal Bhowmik, was tragically burned to death in Narsingdi, Bangladesh, on Friday night. He was sleeping in a garage when the fire broke out, and CCTV footage has raised suspicions of foul play.Narsingdi Police Superintendent (SP) Abdullah Al Faruque told ANI over the phone that while the fire originated inside the shop, CCTV footage shows a person of interest moving around the area prior to the incident.“We have collected footage from the CCTV cameras and observed a scene showing a person moving around. We are investigating whether the fire was caused by an external factor or an electrical fault,” the SP said.He added that the fire service broke open the shutter to rescue Bhowmik, but by then his body had been completely charred. “We are still investigating everything, and so far, no one has been arrested,” the SP said.Authorities are currently determining whether the blaze was accidental or the result of an external act. No arrests had been made as of Sunday.Bangladesh continues to face a volatile security situation as the country approaches national elections scheduled for February 12, 2026. Amid the ban on the Awami League and rising communal tensions, the safety of religious minorities has become a major concern for the international community.Reports from human rights organisations and government agencies indicate a sharp rise in targeted violence against minorities since the interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus assumed power in August 2024.The internal instability has also drawn strong reactions from the country’s exiled leadership. In her first address in India since fleeing Bangladesh after violent protests in August 2024, former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina sharply criticised Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus, saying the country had “plunged into an age of terror.”Hasina alleged that there was a “treacherous plot to barter away the territory and resources of Bangladesh to foreign interests” and called on citizens to “overthrow the Yunus regime.” Bangladesh is scheduled to hold national elections on February 12, though the Awami League’s activities remain banned and its registration suspended.“Bangladesh stands today at the edge of an abyss, a nation battered and bleeding,” Hasina said in a pre-recorded audio message played at an event in the national capital. She alleged that extremist communal forces and foreign perpetrators had turned the country into “a vast prison, an execution ground, a valley of death.”In January, a large protest was held at Parliament Square in London, where demonstrators called for international attention to the continued persecution and killing of minorities in Bangladesh. The demonstration was organised by the Bangladesh Hindu Association (BHA) and supported by INSIGHT UK and the Bengali Hindu Adarsh Sangha (BHAS).According to organisers, the event drew more than 500 participants, including students, professionals, families, elderly activists and interfaith leaders from the British Hindu diaspora.As the date of the 13th National Parliamentary Election approaches, reports suggest that communal violence is increasing at an alarming rate. In December alone, at least 51 incidents of violence were reported.These included 10 murders, 10 cases of theft and robbery, 23 incidents involving the occupation of homes, businesses, temples and land, along with looting and arson. There were also four cases of arrest and torture on allegations of religious defamation and being “agents of RAW,” one attempted rape, and three incidents of physical assault, according to the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council.India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has expressed serious concern over the killing of the Hindu youth in Bangladesh, linking the incident to broader issues of minority safety and law and order in the country.The MEA noted that independent assessments have documented more than 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities during the tenure of Bangladesh’s interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, including cases of killings, arson and land grabbing.



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