In a second violent incident targeting a member of the Hindu minority community within a week, a 29-year-old man was beaten to death in Bangladesh's Rajbari district. The killing of Amrit Mandal, also known as Samrat, occurred late on Wednesday, just days after the blasphemy-related lynching of Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh.
Details of the Fatal Incident
The incident took place around 11 pm on Wednesday in the Hossaindanga Purantan Bazar area of Pangsha upazila. According to Sheikh Moinul Islam, the in-charge of Pangsha Model Police Station, Mandal had reportedly gone to a local resident's house to demand extortion money. When he could not find the owner of the house, he allegedly assaulted the owner's son. This act drew the attention of locals, who, suspecting him to be a robber, attacked him. The mob lynching resulted in Mandal's death at the scene.
Criminal Background and Official Statement
Officials were quick to state that the killing was not a communal attack. The government, citing police information and an initial investigation, framed the event as a consequence of criminal activity. Amrit Mandal was described as a "top terrorist" and the leader of a gang called "Samrat Bahini." Authorities alleged he had formed a "terrorist force in his name" in the area, engaging in extortion and intimidation.
He had several criminal cases registered against him, including a murder and extortion case from 2023, for which there was an active arrest warrant. Officials stated that Mandal had fled to India during the tenure of the current Awami League government but continued to direct his gang's activities from abroad. He had only recently returned to the area.
Context and Aftermath
This violent death follows closely on the heels of another tragic lynching. 25-year-old Dipu Chandra Das was killed in Mymensingh on charges of blasphemy, raising concerns about the safety of minority communities and mob justice. In the case of Amrit Mandal, the government's firm stance is that the incident stemmed solely from a violent clash related to his alleged extortion and terrorist activities, with an angry local crowd being responsible for his death. The statements aim to separate this incident from the communal tensions highlighted by the earlier killing, though both victims belonged to the Hindu minority.
