Dhaka, Jan 2: In a disturbing incident highlighting rising violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh, a Hindu businessman was brutally attacked by a mob, stabbed and set ablaze late on New Year’s Eve in the Shariatpur district.The victim, 50-year-old Khokon Chandra Das, survived the assault after jumping into a nearby pond to escape the flames.
According to local media reports, the attack occurred around 9:30 pm on December 31 near Keurbhanga Bazar in Damudya upazila. Das was returning home in a CNG-powered auto-rickshaw after closing his pharmacy and mobile banking shop when a group of miscreants stopped his vehicle on the Damudya-Shariatpur road.
The assailants allegedly brutally assaulted him with sharp weapons, stabbed him multiple times and then poured petrol over his body before setting him on fire.
Das managed to escape the blaze by jumping into a nearby pond, after which local residents rushed to his aid.