Overview
- India’s foreign ministry said it sees a disturbing pattern of recurring attacks on minorities in Bangladesh and urged swift, firm action.
- MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal cautioned that labeling cases as personal or political rivalries emboldens perpetrators and heightens insecurity among minorities.
- UK MP Priti Patel asked Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper to press Dhaka to protect religious freedoms, citing reports of at least six Hindus killed within 18 days.
- Recent cases include the lynching and burning of Dipu Chandra Das, the killing of a grocery shop owner in Narsingdi, and the shooting of a journalist in Jessore.
- Bangladeshi police detained former madrasa teacher Yasin Arafat as the main suspect in the December 18 lynching, as the BHBCUC logged 51 communal incidents, including 10 murders, in December.