'Misleading propaganda': India rejects Dhaka media reports, expresses concern over safety of minorities

NEW DELHI: India has described the incident of a Hindu youth being lynched by a mob in Bangladesh as horrifying. The Indian Ministry of External Affairs has also rejected a Bangladeshi media report that a group of Indian nationals had threatened Bangladeshi diplomats. India responded by saying that this was false news.

Indian officials said they were monitoring the situation in Bangladesh. Foreign Office spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that Indian authorities were trying to contact Bangladeshi officials and had expressed concern about the safety of minorities. He also demanded that those who killed the Hindu youth be brought to justice.

Deepu Chandra Das (25) was lynched by a mob in Baluka in Mymensingh district on Thursday on charges of blasphemy and then his body was hanged from a tree and set on fire. Seven people have been arrested in the incident. The incident drew international criticism and the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus stepped up its efforts. The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) arrested the accused after conducting searches in various parts of the country.

The assailants had set Deepu's charred body on fire a second time after taking it to the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway. Yunus said that no one will be spared. Statistics indicate that attacks on minorities, including Hindus, have increased sharply in Bangladesh since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina government last year. Various minority organisations also allege that the Yunus administration is not taking strict action to prevent the attacks.