A 23-year-old Hindu youth was allegedly burned alive while sleeping inside a garage in Bangladesh's Narsingdi on Friday night.
The victim has been identified as Chanchal Chandra Bhowmik, son of Khokan Chandra Bhowmik, a resident of Lakshmipur village in Cumilla district. Chanchal, who had been working at the garage for several years, was the sole breadwinner of his family, India Today reported.
According to various media reports that cite witnesses, the attack occurred late on Friday night while Chanchal was sleeping inside the garage. Unidentified assailants allegedly poured petrol on the garage's shutter from outside and set it on fire.
Chanchal remained trapped in the fire for a long time and died of suffocation and burn injuries, eyewitnesses said. Chanchal's family has called the incident a "planned murder" and demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible, along with the strictest possible punishment.
Police said evidence has been collected from the scene, and the process of registering a case is underway. The attackers were spotted setting fire to the garage in CCTV cameras nearby, but are yet to be identified.
"We have collected footage from the CCTV cameras and observed that there is a scene showing a person moving around. We are investigating whether the fire was caused by some external factor or by an electrical fault," Narsingdi police superintendent (SP), Abdullah Al Faruque told ANI.
The SP also mentioned that the fire started inside the shop, and that the fire service broke the shutter to rescue him, although his body was charred to death. "We are still investigating everything, and so far, no one has been arrested," he added.
Over the past few weeks, Bangladesh has seen a rise in violent attacks against minorities under the interim administration led by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, with Hindus, who make up roughly 7 per cent of the population, frequently targeted.
On January 18, a Hindu businessman was allegedly beaten to death in Bangladesh's Gazipur, after an argument over bananas. Earlier, two Hindus were killed in the country within 24 hours.
Other recent incidents include the killing of Bajendra Biswas, 40, a member of the paramilitary Ansar Bahini, at a garment factory in Bhaluka on 29 December by a colleague; the lynching of 29-year-old Amrit Mondal over alleged extortion in Rajbari on December 24; and the lynching and immolation of 29-year-old Dipu Chandra Das over alleged blasphemy in Mymensingh on December 18.
