With rising incidents of violence against religious minorities in Bangladesh, another Hindu man died after consuming poison in Derai Upazila of Sunamganj district.
According to local media reports, 19-year-old Joy Mohapatra was allegedly beaten and humiliated over a debt of 500 Bangladeshi Taka, following which he consumed poison.
Mohapatra’s cousin Ayan Das told a local news outlet that his brother had purchased a mobile phone for 5,500 Taka from a shopkeeper named Amirul Islam.
He paid 2,000 Taka in cash and got the remaining amount converted into weekly installments of 500 Taka.
While Joy made a timely payment, the final installment was delayed. When he went to Islam’s shop to pay that, he was allegedly assaulted and humiliated.
After the incident, Joy consumed poison and was admitted to M A G Osmani Medical College Hospital in Sylhet. However, he died during the course of treatment.
Narrating the ordeal, Joy’s mother said that the shopkeeper snatched his son’s mobile phone and when he asked for the SIM, he was told to come in the evening.
“When he went in the evening, they slapped my son. My son consumed poison at that shop,” she alleged.
The incident marks the eighth death of a Hindu man in Bangladesh in less than a month and the fourth this week.
Amid rising incidents of violence against Hindus, India on Friday expressed deep concerns and asked the Bangladeshi government to address the issue decisively.
“We continue to witness a disturbing pattern of recurring attacks on minorities, as well as their homes and establishments, business establishments by extremists in Bangladesh. Such communal incidents need to be dealt with swiftly and firmly,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, addressing his weekly media briefing in New Delhi.
India had also raised similar concerns last month. However, Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs dismissed them as “exaggerated” and “motivated narratives.”
In a statement, the Bangladeshi Foreign Ministry said that comments made by the spokesperson of India’s Ministry of External Affairs regarding the situation of minority communities in Bangladesh “do not reflect the facts.”
“The Government of Bangladesh categorically rejects any inaccurate, exaggerated, or motivated narratives that misrepresent Bangladesh’s longstanding tradition of communal harmony,” the statement had added.