Hindu Right Protests Bangladesh Lynching, Clash With Police Near High Commission

Supporters of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bajrang Dal clashed with police after broke barricades near the heavily fortified Bangladesh High Commission in Delhi on Tuesday, protesting against the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh. 

On December 18, Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old garment factory worker, was lynched by a mob and his body set on fire over blasphemy in Baluka in Mymensingh.

The high security area saw a beefed-up police presence in the morning ahead of the protest announced by the Hindu right against the lynching in the neighbouring nation. Tensions escalated when a crowd of demonstrators pushed security barricades chanting Bharat Mata Ki Jai, Yunus Sarkar Hosh Main Aao, and Hindu Hatiya Band Karo. 

A sea of banners and placards bobbed in the air, reading denunciatory messages against the Bangladesh government. Protesters forced several barricades down as police struggled to contain the surge. A placard read: “Hindu rakt ki ek ek boond ka hisaab chahiye (Each drop of blood of a Hindu must be accounted for).”

“There are many atrocities happening in Bangladesh. We want the Prime Minister to intervene and take action because Hindus are in danger there. We are demanding action against those committing crimes against Hindus,” said Rakesh Mitra, a protester from Kolkata. 

“Protesters alleged that Hindus are being regularly targeted in Bangladesh and said the recent murder was not an isolated incident. They called for international pressure to be mounted on the Bangladeshi authorities. Through this protest, we want to raise our voice for Hindus in Bangladesh and send a message to the international community that we stand with them. Until a single Hindu continues to be harmed there, we will not stop,” said Surinder Gupta, General Secretary of the VHP’s Delhi unit.

“We request our government to take strict action against those who are behind the assault and killing of a Hindu man. We demand that the Bangladesh police take strict action against those who are behind the killing. We in India consider every community as our brothers and sisters and every Hindu in every country must be treated in the same way,” another protester.

The area had been secured with three layers of barricades and a reinforced presence of police and paramilitary. An officer said a 15,000-strong police force was deployed ahead of the demonstration. He said police managed to hold the protesters about 800 metres from the high commission. DTC buses were parked as an obstacle to thwart the protesters’ bid to reach the high commission.

Meanwhile, Indian high commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma was summoned to Bangladesh’s ministry of foreign affairs. India summoned Bangladesh envoy and conveyed strong concerns over threats by extremist elements to diplomatic mission and minority communities. On December 21, the ministry of external affairs rejected what it described as false narratives of security lapses at Bangladesh’s High Commission in Delhi, maintaining that the protests were brief and effectively managed.

Bangladesh has suspended visa services at its High Commission in New Delhi and its missions in Tripura and Siliguri, citing “unavoidable circumstances”. There have been amid protests outside its diplomatic premises. The move came days after India temporarily halted visa operations at its Chittagong mission after protesters attempted to breach the compound.

New Delhi also urged Dhaka to ensure justice in the lynching of Das, who according to the police, was first beaten up by a mob outside the factory and then hanged from a tree. The crowd left the body of the deceased by the Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway and later set it on fire. The protesting Hindu organisations and minority rights in Dhaka, alleged that Das was falsely accused of religious defamation.

The latest flashpoint was triggered after the death of Hadi, a prominent organiser of the “July Uprising”, who was shot at from a close range, and was receiving treatment in Singapore. His death sparked widespread protests in Bangladesh.