Bangladesh: Two Hindu men lynched by mob in Rangpur, horrific video goes viral

Dhaka, Aug 14 (IANS) In yet another case of mob violence in Bangladesh, two men were brutally beaten to death in Taraganj upazila area of Rangpur district on suspicion of theft with the widely circulating video of the incident on social media sparking massive outrage all over the world.

The deceased, both family members, were identified as Ruplal Das, aged 40, of the Ghanirampur area in the upazila, and Pradip Das, aged 35, of Mithapukur upazila. The incident reportedly occurred over the weekend at the Burirhat High School grounds in Rangpur.

Reports suggest that although police had arrived at the crime scene, they took no effective action and later left in fear. Later, by the time more vehicles carrying police and army personnel reached the spot, one of the victims, Ruplal, had already died, and most of the people involved in the violence fled, Bangladesh's leading daily Dhaka Tribune reported on Thursday.

Citing eyewitnesses of the lynching incident, another Bangladeshi daily Prothom Alo reported that 15 to 20 young men were at the forefront of the attack.

The video captured Ruplal and Pradip surrounded by hundreds of people, mostly young men, as they were lying in a van in the middle of the school field. When police tried to disperse them, the mob grew hostile. As tension escalated, the police left the two men behind, who were already half-dead from the beating.

After the police fled the scene, the mob again started brutally assaulting them with punches, kicks, sticks, and rods. At one point, Pradip Lal fell from the van to the ground. Additionally, four or five young men repeatedly kicked Rup Lal in the back to ensure he died, while some people from the mob shouted, “Give it, give it more." Pointing at Pradip Lal, one person said, "Give him some, too,” prompting another man to strike him harder with a tree branch.

According to the police, the victims were taken to Taraganj Upazila Health Complex, where physicians declared Ruplal dead on arrival. Subsequently, Pradip was transferred to Rangpur Medical College Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries in the early hours on Sunday.

Following the incident, Ruplal’s wife, Bharati Rani, filed a murder case at Taraganj police station, accusing 500 to 700 individuals of involvement in the violent incident. So far police have reportedly arrested only four individuals from different areas, including Ebadat Hossain, from Balapur, Akhtarul Islam, and Rafiqul Islam from Burirhat, and Mizanur Rahman, from Rahimapur.

Bangladesh has been gripped with numerous incidents of mob lynching and extreme lawlessness after the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government assumed power last year.

--IANS

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