Another Hindu Man Lynched in Bangladesh, Interim Govt Says Incident 'Criminal in Nature, Not Communal'

New Delhi: A man was beaten to death by a mob in Bangladesh's Rajbari district over an alleged extortion attempt, marking the second such lynching of a Hindu victim in recent days, as the interim government insisted the incident was criminal in nature and not communal.

According to a report by The Daily Star, Amrit Mondal, also known as Samrat, was beaten by locals in Hosendanga village under Pangsha police station in Rajbari’s Pangsha upazila at around 11 pm on December 24. Police said the violence followed allegations that Mondal had gone to the area to collect extortion money.

Assistant superintendent of police Debrata Sarkar told reporters that officers rushed to the spot after receiving information and rescued Mondal in critical condition. He was taken to Pangsha Upazila health complex, where doctors declared him dead.

Police arrested one of Mondal’s associates, Mohammad Selim, from the scene and recovered two firearms, including a pistol and a pipe gun. Sarkar said Mondal had at least two cases filed against him at Pangsha police station, including a murder case, and was accused in multiple extortion-related cases registered in 2023.

Local residents told The Daily Star that Mondal was alleged to have been involved in extortion and other criminal activities and had recently returned from India, where he had been away for some time. On the night of the incident, he and several associates allegedly went to a villager’s home to collect money. When the residents raised an alarm, locals converged on the spot and assaulted him, while others in his group managed to escape.

In a statement released on Thursday (December 25), the Bangladesh interim government condemned the killing but urged the public and international observers not to view the incident through a religious lens.

"Based on police information and the preliminary investigation, it is evident that the incident was in no way a communal attack," the statement read. "It arose from a violent situation stemming from extortion and criminal activities."

Dhaka stressed Mondal's status as a "top criminal" with arrest warrants pending against him since 2023. The statement further expressed "deep concern" that certain groups were attempting to "portray the incident as a communal attack by foregrounding the religious identity of the deceased," calling such narratives "completely baseless and driven by malicious intent."

The Bangladesh government asserted that it would take legal action against those involved in the mob violence, reiterating that it does not support "any form of unlawful activity or mob violence."

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