Delhi, Kolkata and Other Cities Protest Lynching of Hindu Man in Bangladesh

Protests erupted in several Indian cities on Tuesday following the lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh, an incident that has sparked widespread outrage and further strained already tense India–Bangladesh relations.

Demonstrations were reported in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Hyderabad, parts of Madhya Pradesh and Agartala, with Hindu organisations staging protests near Bangladeshi diplomatic missions and demanding justice and greater protection for minorities in the neighbouring country.

The protests were triggered by the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old Hindu garment factory worker, who was beaten to death by a mob in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district on December 18 over alleged blasphemy. According to officials, his body was later tied to a tree and set on fire.

Diplomatic protests exchanged

As protests intensified, India and Bangladesh summoned each other’s envoys to register formal objections over recent developments affecting bilateral ties.

India’s High Commissioner to Bangladesh, Pranay Verma, was summoned to Bangladesh’s foreign ministry, where Foreign Secretary Asad Alam Siam conveyed Dhaka’s “grave concern” over demonstrations outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and vandalism at a visa centre in Siliguri.

Later, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, was called to the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. Indian officials emphasised the need for a thorough investigation into the killing of Bangladeshi radical student leader Sharif Osman Hadi and cautioned against unsubstantiated allegations blaming India for his death.

Indian officials said such allegations had fuelled anti-India protests in Bangladesh, including an attempted mob attack on the Indian assistant high commission in Chittagong last week.

Protests across India

In New Delhi, protests led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Bajrang Dal saw hundreds of demonstrators carrying saffron flags gather near the heavily secured Bangladesh High Commission. Police deployed around 1,500 personnel and multiple layers of barricades, stopping protesters roughly 800 metres from the mission.

Protesters burned effigies of Bangladesh’s interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus and raised slogans demanding accountability for Das’s killing.

In Kolkata, members of Bangiyo Hindu Jagran and other groups demonstrated near the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission. Police conducted a lathi charge after tensions escalated due to the large turnout. Similar protests were held in Mumbai, where several VHP members were detained, and in Hyderabad, where organisers warned of intensified agitation.

Political leaders across party lines condemned the killing. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma linked the outrage to broader concerns over illegal immigration, while BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari called the lynching a “shameful act” and accused Bangladesh’s interim government of failing to protect minorities.

Bihar BJP president Dilip Jaiswal alleged a wider conspiracy behind the unrest, while Congress leader Supriya Shrinate urged the Indian government to adopt a firm diplomatic stance to ensure the safety of minorities in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh response

Bangladesh’s interim chief adviser Muhammad Yunus expressed “profound sorrow” over Das’s killing and offered condolences to his family. The country’s de facto education minister, CR Abrar, visited the victim’s family and described the incident as a “heinous criminal act with no justification”.

Bangladesh’s interim government said 12 people have been arrested in connection with the lynching and assured that the case would be pursued “fully and without exception”.