Bangladesh: Hindu trader lynched in Dhaka, attackers seen dancing on body in viral video
Sohag was allegdely dragged from his shop, bit with iron rods and iron chunks by the extortionists. The attackers are believed to be Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Dhaka: Students stage protest in Bangladesh's Dhaka over the lynching of a scrap trader identified as Lal Chand Sohag. The protestors also criticised the Bangladesh interim government for its failure to contain the mob.
The Hindu scrap trader was reportedly lynched by some extortionists on Wednesday near Mitford Hospital in the Old Dhaka area. The police have arrested at least five people, two of whom were carrying illegal firearms.
Extortionists beat Sohag with iron rods
A video that went viral on social media showed Sohag being lynched with chunks of concrete slabs, and the attackers subsequently danced on his body after confirming his death. Lal Chand’s sister, Manjuara Begum (42), has filed a complaint against the culprits at Dhaka's Kotwali Police Station. Titon Gazi, the prime accused, has been placed in five-day police remand, NDTV reported.
Witnesses revealed that Sohag was allegedly dragged from his shop and beaten with iron rods and concrete chunks, then left to die in the lanes. According to a Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo, the case so far names 19 accused and includes another 15–20 unidentified suspects.
According to reports, the scrap trader was allegedly killed by activists from a front of former prime minister Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), with which Sohag was previously associated. Current party members claim that the four perpetrators involved in the lynching have since been expelled.
'Who gave you beasts the right to kill people?'
Students from several universities took to the streets, raising their voices against the inhumane incident. BRAC University, NSU, East West University, and the government-run Eden Mohila College staged demonstrations on Saturday, while premier institutions Dhaka University and Jagannath University held protests soon after the brutal murder video went viral.
"Who gave you beasts the right to kill people? What is the interim (government) doing while extortionists are carrying out mayhem?” students were quoted as saying by local media. The demonstration was organised under the banner of Jahangirnagar Against Repression.