On a humid Friday evening in Sylhet, Khagendra Chandra Das was tending to customers at Rani Store, his small grocery shop in the Shibganj Senpara neighborhood, when an allegation spread faster than any investigation could begin.
An eight-year-old child had come to buy a soft drink on May 29. Because the shop was crowded, police said, the child had to wait briefly before leaving with the purchase. Soon afterward, the child’s mother returned and accused Das, a Hindu businessman, of touching the child inappropriately. Within minutes, a crowd gathered at the shop and attacked him.
Police later rescued Das, bloodied and seriously injured, and admitted him to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital. His son subsequently filed a case naming 13 suspects and several unidentified individuals. Police arrested five people.
The allegation quickly unraveled under scrutiny. After reviewing CCTV footage and other evidence, police said they found no indication that any sexual harassment or molestation had occurred.
Speaking after the attack, Sylhet Metropolitan Police Additional Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Monjurul Alam told local media: “After analyzing the CCTV footage, we confirmed that no incident of molestation occurred as alleged.”
He described the assault as a clear case of mob justice, saying Das had been attacked on the basis of rumor and suspicion.
Less than 24 hours later, in North Putail village of Manikganj Sadar Upazila, another crowd delivered its own fatal verdict.
Shortly after midnight on May 30, according to police, more than 100 people surrounded a house where Md Sajib Mia, 29, was staying. By around 3 a.m., he had been dragged into an attack, hacked with sharp weapons and killed at the scene.
Residents accused Sajib of robbery, narcotics-related offenses and other crimes. Yet none of those allegations had been examined in court before he was killed.
Additional Superintendent of Police Abdullah Al Masum described the incident as a “murder by mob” and said legal action was underway.
Though different in circumstance, the two attacks point to the same disturbing reality: allegations, rumors and suspicions are increasingly becoming grounds for punishment before any formal investigation or judicial process can take place.
A Rising Death Toll
At least 32 people were killed and 71 seriously injured in 69 incidents of mob violence across Bangladesh during May, according to the Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF).
The May death toll was the highest recorded in six months and represented a significant increase from April, when 21 people were killed and 49 injured.
“The number of people killed in mob violence rose from 21 to 32 in May, reflecting a clear rise in the tendency of people to take the law into their own hands,” MSF said in its monthly human rights assessment released on May 31.
The victims were targeted over a wide range of allegations, including theft, robbery, personal disputes, attempted rape, extortion and land conflicts.
According to MSF, 14 of those killed in May died following accusations of theft. Others were attacked after interpersonal disputes or allegations of serious crimes. What linked these incidents was not evidence, but the collapse of due process in the face of collective anger and vigilantism.
MSF Founding President Advocate Sultana Kamal warned that the increase in mob violence had made public security “a matter of serious concern.”
The organization’s report also documented 53 unidentified bodies recovered during May, seven deaths in jail custody, rising border fatalities, and 326 incidents of violence against women and children.
The trend did not emerge overnight.
MSF recorded 428 lynching incidents that killed 166 people throughout 2025. During the same year, authorities recovered 641 unidentified bodies.
Human Rights Watch, citing data from Ain o Salish Kendra, reported that at least 124 people were killed in mob attacks between June and August 2025 alone.
After Political Upheaval, A Growing Culture of Street Punishment
Mob violence is not new to Bangladesh, but rights groups and local observers say such attacks have become markedly more frequent since the political upheaval of August 2024, when Sheikh Hasina’s government was removed from power and an interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus assumed office.
In March 2025, Prothom Alo reported a noticeable increase in incidents involving groups taking the law into their own hands after Aug. 5, 2024.
During the interim period, Human Rights Watch warned of an “alarming surge” in mob violence involving political groups and other non-state actors.
Amnesty International similarly warned in August 2024 that mob attacks, disinformation and failures by authorities were contributing to widespread insecurity, particularly among minority communities.
The interim administration ended following the February 2026 election, and Tarique Rahman was sworn in as prime minister on Feb. 17. Yet the continued rise in mob killings has placed responsibility for prevention, prosecution and public protection squarely on the current government.
That challenge extends beyond ordinary criminal allegations.
When Das was attacked in Sylhet, police concluded that the accusation that triggered the assault was unsupported by available evidence. Speaking from his hospital bed, Das told SylhetToday24 that he had urged the family to review the shop’s CCTV footage before taking action.
“Suddenly several young men came and began beating me,” he said.
Das also alleged that one of the attackers had previously demanded money from him and that cash and goods were taken from the shop during the incident. Those claims remain under investigation.
Police have not publicly described the assault as religiously motivated. Nevertheless, the attack on a Hindu businessman over an allegation later disproved by CCTV footage is likely to deepen concerns among minority communities, which have repeatedly reported heightened vulnerability during periods of political instability and rumor-driven violence.
In a statement issued on Aug. 14, 2024, following attacks on Hindu, Ahmadi and other minority communities after the change of government, Amnesty International’s South Asia Research Director Babu Ram Pant called for “a swift, thorough, impartial and independent investigation” and fair prosecutions of those responsible.
Nearly two years later, the assault on Das illustrates why those concerns remain unresolved.
Official Promises, Continuing Violence
The recent killings have occurred despite repeated assurances from authorities that mob violence will be addressed.
On May 10, during Police Week 2026 at Rajarbagh Police Auditorium in Dhaka, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed said the government would amend existing laws or introduce new legal measures if necessary to curb such attacks.
The judiciary has also signaled growing concern.
On Feb. 2, the High Court asked the government to explain why its apparent failure to prevent and control mob killings and mass beatings should not be declared unlawful.
The court further sought an explanation regarding compensation for the families of Ruplal Das and his son-in-law Pradeep Das, who were beaten to death in Rangpur in August 2025 over allegations of van theft.
Victims Without a Hearing
Supporters of vigilante action often argue that the formal justice system is too slow or ineffective.
Yet the recent incidents in Sylhet and Manikganj demonstrate the dangers of allowing crowds to substitute themselves for courts.
In Sylhet, a man was nearly beaten to death before readily available evidence could be reviewed. In Manikganj, a suspect was killed before any allegation against him could be tested through investigation, prosecution or trial.
For Khagendra Chandra Das, survival has meant hospitalization, physical trauma and the realization that an unverified accusation nearly cost him his life.
For Sajib Mia’s family, whatever allegations may have existed against him can no longer be examined through evidence, legal defense or judicial judgment.
In both cases, accusation became punishment, and punishment became irreversible.
The figures recorded in May suggest these were not isolated outbursts of public anger. Rather, they reflect a broader erosion of confidence in legal institutions and a growing willingness among segments of society to bypass the justice system altogether.
As crowds increasingly assume the roles of investigator, judge and executioner, Bangladesh faces a challenge that goes beyond crime and public order. It is a test of whether the rule of law can prevail over the rule of the mob.
