Elderly Hindu man thrashed over false blasphemy claim in Bangladesh

Dhaka, June 24 (IANS) A 69-year-old Hindu barber, Poresh Chandra Shil, was brutally assaulted by a mob in Bangladesh's Lalmonirhat district over a false accusation of blasphemy, the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) reported on Tuesday.

Condemning the violence, the human rights body also reported that Shil's son was also manhandled while desperately pleading with the attackers to spare his father's life.

HRCBM revealed that instead of protecting them, local police enabled the violence, with a senior officer promising "fabricated charges to ensure Shil's lifelong imprisonment -- in flagrant violation of Bangladesh's Constitution and international human rights law."

"The incident began on June 20 around 2:30 PM, when Md. Abdul Ajiz, the self-proclaimed Imam of Al-Hera Jame Mosque in Namatari, visited Shil's salon for a haircut. In his ajahar (formal complaint), Ajiz alleged that Shil made derogatory remarks about Islam's prophet marrying a young girl. He stated that only Md. Najmul Islam (29) accompanied him at the time of the incident," read a statement issued by the HRCBM.

However, the complaint also listed Md. Sajid Hussain (17), Md. Jubaier Hussain (35), Md. Tarek Hussain (28), and Md. Nurul Islam as witnesses, without clarification on whether they were actually present during the conversation or brought in later to support the accusation.

HRCBM said it had obtained a video statement from Shil's daughter-in-law, Dipti Rani Roy, who presented a starkly different version of events.

In the video, Roy explained that Ajiz had refused to pay the 10 Bangladeshi Taka service fee for the haircut and, when asked to do so, became enraged. He left the salon and later returned with a false accusation of blasphemy, which was used to incite a violent mob.

The video detailed how the mob beat Shil brutally and manhandled his son as he begged for his father's life.

The family firmly denied that any derogatory comments were made, calling the blasphemy allegation a "fabricated pretext for violence and looting" and part of a broader, long-standing pattern of persecution faced by religious minorities in Bangladesh.

Questioning the credibility of the complaint, HRCBM stated, "This raises serious questions about the credibility of the complaint. In a country where Hindus and other minorities face systemic oppression, discrimination, and the constant threat of mob violence, would an elderly Hindu barber truly dare to make such a provocative statement in his own shop?"

The organisation pointed to inconsistencies in the witness accounts and asserted that the case followed a familiar pattern seen in other "fabricated blasphemy cases," where individuals exploit religious sentiments to harass and extort minorities.

The human rights body accused the local police of playing an active role in the persecution. It cited the officer-in-charge as saying, "I have arrested him, and I will file such a case that he will spend his entire life behind bars."

HRCBM described this statement as provocative and inflammatory, made without verified evidence or proper investigation, and based solely on hearsay.

The organisation stated that this was not an isolated failure but a reflection of a "systemic pattern of state-enabled persecution" where law enforcement fails in its fundamental duty to protect minority citizens and instead fans the flames of mob violence.

Amid the climate of fear, a small group of students from Dhaka University reportedly held a protest to condemn the attack and demand justice for Shil.

HRCBM called this a rare but courageous act of solidarity that revealed "the risks and moral consciences that still exist within Bangladeshi society."

The HRCBM has called for immediate international intervention to protect Bangladesh's minorities from further persecution and violence.

It demanded accountability not only for the perpetrators but also for the state officials who enabled or participated in the assault.

--IANS

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