- There is no evidence Dipu Chandra Das made derogatory religious remarks on Facebook, officials said
- Das was beaten to death outside his garment factory in Mymensingh for alleged blasphemy
- His body was hung from a tree and set on fire by a mob, and the act was recorded on video
There is no direct evidence that Dipu Chandra Das, the Hindu man lynched in Bangladesh's Mymensingh for alleged blasphemy, actually made any remark hurting anyone's religious sentiment, investigation into the chilling murder has found.
Das, 25, was beaten to death in Mymensingh's Bhaluka outside a garment factory where he worked for allegedly making derogatory remarks about Islam. His body was then hung from a tree and set on fire, with a mob recording the heinous act and raising slogans.
A Company Commander of Rapid Action Battalion, Bangladesh's counterterrorism force, has told The Daily Star newspaper that no evidence was found indicating that Das wrote anything on Facebook that might have hurt religious sentiments.
Md Samsuzzaman said local residents and colleagues of Das at the garment factory could not point to any such activity either. "Everyone is now saying that they did not personally hear him say anything of that sort. No one has been found who claims to have heard or seen anything themselves hurting religion," he said.
According to local media reports, a rumour of Das making a derogatory remark against Prophet Muhammad had spread, and this agitated the factory workers. Alamgir Hossain, the factory's floor in charge, has told the Prothom Alo newspaper, "The labourers demanded that Das must be sacked. A mob had gathered outside the factory. To keep the situation under control, Das was relieved of his duties. We tried to save him, but the situation was volatile. The mob then beat him to death."
The officer said that when the mob surrounded the factory on Friday night, and the situation became volatile, Das was pushed out of the factory to protect the establishment.
The mob first beat him to death with sticks and other locally made weapons. The body was then hung from a tree on the median of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and set on fire. The inhuman visuals circulated on social media, drawing strong reactions.
Ten people have been arrested in connection with Das' brutal murder.
The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government in Bangladesh has condemned the mob lynching and said the perpetrators won't be spared. "We wholeheartedly condemn the lynching of a Hindu man in Mymensingh. There is no space for such violence in new Bangladesh. The perpetrators of this heinous crime will not be spared," the office of Chief Advisor Yunus said.
