Bangladesh Hindu attacks: Khokon Chandra Das dies after brutal Dec 31 mob violence

First Mymensingh, then Rajbari, and now Shariatpur. Khokon Chandra Das, a Hindu businessman in Bangladesh, passed away on Saturday, days after being brutally injured by a mob. 

Das is the third Hindu man to be killed in a series of recent mob attacks against minorities in Bangladesh after Dipu Chandra Das, a garment factory worker, and Amrit Mondal, who was allegedly the head of a criminal gang in Bangladesh.

"The horrific attacks on Bengali Hindus continue unabated in Bangladesh and West Bengal!" the West Bengal wing of the BJP wrote in an X post. Indeed, these recent mob killings have also received quite a bit of flak from various countries, including India.

The incident took place on the night of New Year's Eve, when 50-year-old Khokon, who had a medicine and phone shop in the Damudya area of Bangladesh's Shariatpur (about 150km away from Dhaka), was attacked by a mob on his way home.

Das was allegedly first beaten with sharp weapons, after which some petrol-like substance was poured on him and he was set on fire.

After somehow managing to escape from the unruly mob, he reportedly jumped into a nearby pond. He was then rescued by local residents and taken to the Shariatpur Sadar Hospital.

Later that night, he was transferred to the Dhaka Medical College, where he was admitted to the Burn and Plastic Surgery Department. However, a few days later, he succumbed to his injuries.

Notably, his wife, Seema Das, had told Prothom Alo earlier that the miscreants might have tried to kill him as he "recognised two of the attackers".

With just weeks left before the highly anticipated elections in Bangladesh, the country lies in a state of turmoil after the December 12 murder of Sharif Osman Hadi, the leader of the radical party, Inquilab Mancha.