The interim government in Bangladesh on Monday provided compensation in savings certificates worth 2.5 million Bangladeshi taka, or about Rs 18.5 lakh, to the family of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu man who was lynched in the country’s Mymensingh district in December, The Indian Express reported.
Das, a garment worker, had been accused of blasphemy and beaten to death by a mob on December 18, after which his body was allegedly tied to a tree and set on fire. Eighteen persons were taken into custody in connection with the killing.
Das was killed amid widespread unrest in Bangladesh following the death of student leader Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, who succumbed to gunshot injuries at a hospital in Singapore earlier that day.
Hadi was a prominent leader in the 2024 student protest that led to the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League government.
Das’ killing and several other attacks on religious minorities had been reported in Bangladesh at the time, which led to demonstrations in India.
The developments had worsened strained ties between New Delhi and Dhaka.
Following Das’ death, the Indian government on December 26 condemned his lynching, saying that the “unremitting hostility” against minorities in the country was concerning. Two days later, Dhaka rejected the remarks and described them as “inaccurate, exaggerated or motivated”.
On Monday, the compensation was presented to Das’ family through Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus’ office. This came a day before the Bangladesh Nationalist Party was set to form the next government in the country.
Tarique Rahman, the chairperson of the party, will be sworn-in as the prime minister on Tuesday.
With this, the interim government’s term came to an end.
Yunus, a Nobel laureate economist, stepped down as the chief adviser to the interim government on Monday after the disbursal of the bonds, The Indian Express reported.
He had taken over as the head of Bangladesh’s interim government after Hasina was ousted and fled to India in August 2024 following several weeks of widespread student-led protests against her Awami League government. She had been in power for 16 years.
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