The brutal killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, has once again brought Bangladesh under international scrutiny over the growing incidence of mob violence linked to allegations of blasphemy. Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu youth working at a local garment factory, was beaten to death by a mob following accusations that he had made offensive remarks about religion. Witnesses told local journalists that the attackers chanted religious slogans such as “Naraye Takbir” and “Allahu Akbar” during the assault. According to police, the incident occurred late Thursday night in the Dubalia Para area of Square Master Bari.
After the assault, the victim’s body was tied to a tree and set on fire, a duty officer of Bhaluka Police Station confirmed to BBC Bangla. Police later recovered the body and sent it to the morgue at Mymensingh Medical College Hospital. As of the latest update, no formal case has been filed in connection with the killing, a fact that has raised serious concern among rights groups and minority organizations.
The absence of immediate legal action, despite the extreme brutality of the crime, has intensified fears of impunity. Rights activists argue that the killing of Dipu Chandra Das is not an isolated incident but part of a wider and deeply troubling pattern in which allegations of blasphemy or religious hurt are increasingly weaponized against religious minorities, ethnic communities, students, writers, and dissenting voices.
In recent years, allegations of blasphemy, often originating from unverified social media posts, have repeatedly led to mob violence, destruction of property, and prolonged detention of accused individuals. In many cases, the authenticity of the alleged posts is never independently verified by law enforcement agencies, yet entire communities are punished collectively.
On 30 October 2016 in Nasirnagar Upazila, Brahmanbaria, Bangladesh, a violent mob attack was triggered by an alleged defamatory Facebook post attributed to Rasraj Das, a local Hindu fisherman; although he later claimed that his account had been hacked, the accusation led to communal violence. That day, around 150–300 attackers vandalised and looted over 100 Hindu houses and at least 15 temples, injuring more than 100 minority residents and forcing many to flee their homes; Rasraj himself was beaten by the crowd and arrested under cyber law charges for “hurting religious sentiments,” and was detained for over two months before being released on bail in mid January 2017.
In October–November 2017 in Gangachara Upazila, Rangpur, Titu Roy of Haorkoli/Thakurpara village was accused of posting a “blasphemous” comment about Islam and Prophet Muhammad on Facebook on 28 October 2017, an allegation he denied and his defense said he was illiterate and could not have made such a post. Following the accusation, on 10 November 2017, enraged mobs held demonstrations and torched and vandalized multiple Hindu homes and temples in the village, with reports of houses being burned and at least one person killed amid clashes with police. Titu Roy was later arrested and in May 2023 was sentenced to 10 years in prison under Bangladesh’s cyber/ICT laws for “defaming Islam” and fined Tk50,000. Rights monitors noted that no credible forensic verification was carried out before action was taken.
Joydeb Chandra Shil, a student at Cumilla University, became a victim of communal violence in 2019 when he was severely beaten by a mob calling itself Tawhidi Janata, who accused him of insulting Islam. The attackers forcibly handed him over to the police, and a case was immediately filed against him under charges of hurting religious sentiments. Despite being the victim of mob violence, Joydeb was detained for 18 months, enduring imprisonment while the perpetrators who organized and carried out the attack faced no legal action, highlighting a pattern of impunity for religiously motivated mobs and the vulnerability of minority communities in Bangladesh.
On 17 March 2021, in Shalla Upazila of Sunamganj District, thousands of supporters of the hardline Islamist group Hefazat-e-Islam launched a coordinated attack on the Hindu community in Noagaon village, triggered by allegations that a Facebook comment by a local Hindu youth, Jhumon Das Apon, had insulted Islam. The mob went on a rampage, vandalizing and looting hundreds of homes, attacking several temples, destroying idols and household valuables, and brutally assaulting residents, forcing many families to flee for safety. Entire neighborhoods were left devastated in what survivors described as a pogrom-like assault carried out with near-total impunity. Jhumon Das was subsequently arrested and detained, while those responsible for the mass violence largely evaded accountability—underscoring how allegations of “religious hurt,” often originating online, are repeatedly weaponized to justify collective punishment against minority communities in Bangladesh.
Veteran student leader of the 1960s, peasant leader, and noted secular intellectual Shamsuzzoha Manik was imprisoned for more than eight months on charges of “hurting religious sentiments,” primarily linked to his role as editor of the book Islam Bitorko (Debate on Islam). Islamist organizations, including Islami Chhatra Shibir and Khelafat Majlish, conducted sustained campaigns branding him an atheist and anti-Islam across social media platforms. On 15 February 2016, police from Shahbag Police Station under the Dhaka Metropolitan Police arrested Manik under Section 57(2) of the Information and Communication Technology Act, 2006, despite the fact that the book had been publicly available for years and was grounded in theological debate and critical scholarship. Before and during his arrest, Manik received repeated threats from Islamic fundamentalist and militant groups via phone calls, SMS, Facebook pages, and websites. He was produced before the court, where police sought and obtained a five-day remand. On the same day, the bookstall of Baw-deep Prokashon at the Ekushey Book Fair was shut down, and all its publications, including Islam Bitorko, were seized; Manik and his brother were also arrested, and a case was filed against them. His prolonged detention drew sharp criticism from academics, writers, and civil society figures, who condemned the case as a grave assault on freedom of thought and expression in Bangladesh.
Selected Blasphemy-Related Incidents in Bangladesh
(Aug 2024 – Dec 2025 | Short Reference List from the Voice)
Aug 2024 | Nationwide
Post–August 5 violence across 68 districts; blasphemy rumors used to justify attacks on Hindu communities.
Sept 4, 2024 | Khulna
Hindu student Utsab Mandal lynched inside police premises over Facebook blasphemy allegations.
Sept–Oct 2024 | Jessore, Chattogram, Bagerhat, Faridpur
Multiple cases of arrests, suspensions, mob violence, and army concessions following unverified blasphemy claims against Hindus.
Dec 3–4, 2024 | Sunamganj
Over 100 Hindu homes and temples attacked after arrest of Akash Singha on blasphemy charges.
Jan–Feb 2025 | Chattogram, Narayanganj
Pranta Talukder tortured by mob; poet Sohel Hasan Galib arrested for a satirical poem.
Mar–Apr 2025 | Pabna, Dinajpur, Tangail
Students expelled; Hindu shopkeeper Sobuj Das boycotted and displaced; mob assault cases with no prosecutions.
June–July 2025 | Lalmonirhat, Dinajpur, Rangpur
Victims arrested instead of attackers; collective punishment of Hindu villages after blasphemy accusations.
Aug–Oct 2025 | Chattogram, Dhaka, Satkhira, Mymensingh
Students, poets, and converts attacked or jailed; repeated pattern of mob violence followed by cyber cases.
Nov 2025 | Manikganj
Baul singer Abul Sarkar arrested; Islamist mobs attack Baul supporters.
Dec 18, 2025 | Mymensingh (Bhaluka)
Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment worker, beaten to death and burned over blasphemy allegations.
In many cases, members of religious minority communities are accused of “hurting religious sentiments,” particularly of Islam, based on allegations circulating on social media, most commonly Facebook. These accusations, often unverified or fabricated, quickly escalate into collective punishment. Entire communities are attacked: villages are vandalized, homes looted and set on fire, and residents subjected to intimidation, violence, and torture.
Although criminal cases are sometimes filed after such incidents, accountability remains extremely rare. Investigations are frequently delayed or ineffective, and prosecutions seldom result in convictions. There is little to no publicly available information indicating that looted property has been recovered or returned to the victims. In most cases, the perpetrators of mob violence enjoy impunity, reinforcing a dangerous pattern in which rumors and online posts are weaponized to justify large-scale attacks on vulnerable communities.
Human rights organizations such as Ain o Salish Kendra and Odhikar have repeatedly warned that mob violence and the misuse of blasphemy related provisions are eroding constitutional safeguards in Bangladesh. Their reports document a consistent failure to take swift legal action against perpetrators of mob violence, while victims or the accused face arrest, detention, or social exclusion. According to these organizations, the rapid spread of misinformation on social media platforms has further aggravated the situation. Inflammatory posts, often created anonymously or manipulated digitally, can trigger large scale violence within hours, while law enforcement agencies frequently respond after irreversible damage has been done.
Under the current interim administrative arrangement in Bangladesh, the state’s response to such incidents has often been slow, inconsistent, or entirely absent. This failure of timely intervention has created an environment in which mobs feel emboldened to act with near impunity, effectively assuming the roles of judge and executioner. The repeated targeting of religious minorities, students, writers, and intellectuals raises grave concerns about the weakening of governance, the absence of accountability, and the state’s ability or willingness to uphold and protect the fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution.
Bangladesh has no explicit blasphemy law; however, existing criminal and digital statutes are routinely weaponized as de facto blasphemy provisions, enabling censorship, persecution, and a climate of impunity for mob violence. For decades, Islamist political parties and hardline religious groups have exerted sustained pressure on the state to introduce harsher penalties including the death sentence for alleged religious hurt, despite the absence of such provisions in the country’s formal legal framework.
In a democratic state governed by the rule of law, no individual or group has the authority to take the law into their own hands. Mob violence, arson, looting, or extrajudicial killing are criminal offences under Bangladesh’s Penal Code and are unequivocally prohibited by the Constitution of Bangladesh, which guarantees equality before law, protection of life and personal liberty, and due process. Where an individual claims to be aggrieved by speech or expression, the only lawful remedy is to seek redress through the police or the courts. Yet in Bangladesh, cases involving so called religious hurt or blasphemy reveal a persistent and troubling pattern: victims of mob attacks are frequently arrested and prosecuted, while those responsible for violence, destruction of property, and intimidation often escape accountability. This practice not only violates domestic legal safeguards but also places Bangladesh in breach of its international obligations under instruments such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which requires the state to protect freedom of expression, ensure effective remedies, and prevent discrimination and collective punishment. The failure to investigate and prosecute perpetrators of mob violence, while criminalizing victims, represents a serious erosion of the rule of law and undermines Bangladesh’s commitments under both national and international human rights law.
No society governed by law can tolerate such vigilantism. Allegations, whether religious or otherwise, must be examined through lawful investigation and judicial process. Violence, torture, and extrajudicial punishment have no justification under any legal or moral framework. When justice is delayed or denied, as in the case of Dipu Chandra Das, it emboldens extremist elements and severely weakens public trust in state institutions.
Bangladesh now stands at a critical juncture. The restoration of the rule of law, democratic governance, accountability, and freedom of expression is urgently needed. Failure to confront the growing culture of mob justice and the misuse of blasphemy allegations will not only endanger minority communities but will also erode the foundations of the state itself.
Parvez Hashem, Lawyer and Human Rights Defender
