- Khokon Chandra Das, a Hindu man in Bangladesh, died after a brutal attack and fire assault
- Das initially survived by jumping into a pond but later died in a Dhaka hospital
- Bangladesh faces rising violence against minorities amid government claims of protection efforts
Khokon Chandra Das, the Hindu man in Bangladesh who was attacked with sharp weapons and set afire, died today after battling for life in a Dhaka hospital, his family said.
Khokon Das ran a medicine and mobile banking business in his village, 150 km from Dhaka. The attack happened on his way home after closing his shop on Wednesday. He managed to jump into a pond which helped douse the flames that nearly engulfed his head and face. The attackers fled after that.
Locals took him to a nearby hospital first, before doctors decided to send him to a bigger hospital in Dhaka.
Khokon Das' wife Seema Das had told NDTV she can't understand why her husband was attacked so brutally as the family had no enemies in the area.
"We have no dispute with anyone on any issue. We don't understand why my husband was suddenly targeted," Seema Das had said in Bangla before she broke down outside the hospital in Dhaka.
Khokon Das' name is now on a growing list of Hindus in the crisis-hit, Muslim-majority nation who have been brutally attacked and murdered allegedly on religious grounds.
Seema Das had pointed out the attackers were Muslims, and requested the police and the Bangladesh government to help her family. She said her husband was set on fire after he recognised two of the attackers.
Bangladesh has been seeing escalating violence against minorities, including Hindus, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, sparking outrage among people and several human rights organisations across the globe. While officials working with Yunus claim they are protecting minorities, the ground reports say otherwise.
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. In a statement, the Bangladesh government said that it remained committed to protecting minorities.
