Shop owner dies after mob pour petrol over body and set him on fire | World | News
A Hindu businessman died after being attacked with sharp weapons and set afire on New Year’s Eve, his family has announced. Khokon Chandra Das, 50, has died after fighting for his life in a hospital in Dhaka, Bangladesh. The man ran a medicine and mobile banking business in his village. The vile attack happened on the way to his home after closing his shop on Wednesday. After the attack, he jumped into a pond which helped douse the flames that nearly engulfed his head and face. The attackers fled the scene after that.
He was first taken to his local hospital, after it was decided to transfer him to a larger hospital in Dhaka. Khokon Das was reportedly killed on religious grounds. His wife Seema Das had pointed out that the attackers were Muslims and requested the police and the Bangladesh government to help her family, NDTV reported. She said her husband was set on fire after he recognised two of the attackers.
She said: “We have no dispute with anyone on any issue. We don’t understand why my husband was suddenly targeted.”
Bangladesh has seen growing violence against Hindus, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government accused of repressing minorities. This has sparked backlash from people and human rights organisations across the globe.
India has several times voiced grave concern over the “unremitting hostility” against minorities in Bangladesh, and asserted that it is keeping a close watch on the ongoing developments in its neighbourhood.
Earlier in December, a garment worker named Dipu Chandra Das was lynched and his body set on fire after he was accused of blasphemy.
On the same day, mobs attacked the offices of The Daily Star and Prothom Alo, setting fire to part of one building and trapping journalists on the roof. A few days later, in another district, another Hindu man was beaten to death by a crowd in a separate lynching, according to Religion Plugged.
In a statement, the Bangladesh government said that it remained committed to protecting minorities. The interim administration has publicly dismissed the extent and seriousness of violence against minorities. In October 2025, its head, Muhammad Yunus, called such concerns “fake news”.
