Dhaka– A 69-year-old Hindu barber, Poresh Chandra Shil, was brutally assaulted by a mob in Bangladesh’s Lalmonirhat district following a false accusation of blasphemy, according to the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM).
The rights group condemned the attack and reported that Shil’s son was also manhandled while pleading with the mob to spare his father’s life. Disturbingly, HRCBM alleged that local police failed to intervene and, instead, enabled the violence. A senior police officer reportedly vowed to file fabricated charges to ensure Shil would be imprisoned for life—an act the organization called a blatant violation of Bangladesh’s Constitution and international human rights standards.
The incident reportedly began around 2:30 p.m. on June 20, when Md. Abdul Ajiz, the self-identified Imam of Al-Hera Jame Mosque in Namatari, visited Shil’s salon for a haircut. In a formal complaint, Ajiz alleged that Shil made derogatory remarks about the Prophet Muhammad’s marriage to a young girl. He claimed only Md. Najmul Islam (29) was present during the incident.
However, the complaint also named four additional witnesses—Md. Sajid Hussain (17), Md. Jubaier Hussain (35), Md. Tarek Hussain (28), and Md. Nurul Islam—without clarifying whether they were actually present or added later to support the accusation.
HRCBM, however, obtained a video statement from Shil’s daughter-in-law, Dipti Rani Roy, which paints a different picture. In the video, Roy stated that Ajiz became enraged after refusing to pay the 10 Bangladeshi Taka haircut fee. After leaving the salon, he allegedly returned with the false blasphemy claim, which was then used to incite a violent mob.
The mob severely beat Shil and assaulted his son, who begged them to stop. The family firmly denied any blasphemous remarks, calling the accusation a “fabricated pretext for violence and looting,” and part of a broader pattern of religious persecution.
“This raises serious questions about the credibility of the complaint,” HRCBM noted in its statement. “In a country where minorities live under constant threat, would an elderly Hindu barber truly make such a provocative statement in his own shop?”
The organization pointed to inconsistencies in witness accounts and said the case resembled a recurring pattern in Bangladesh, where false blasphemy claims are used to intimidate, harass, and extort religious minorities.
HRCBM further accused the local police of actively participating in the persecution. The group 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.” The rights group condemned the comment as inflammatory and unsubstantiated, lacking any proper investigation.
“This is not an isolated failure,” HRCBM stated, “but part of a systemic pattern of state-enabled persecution, where authorities fan the flames of mob violence rather than protect vulnerable citizens.”
In a rare act of resistance, a small group of students from Dhaka University reportedly staged a protest condemning the attack and demanding justice for Shil. HRCBM praised their courage, calling it a sign that “moral conscience and solidarity still exist within Bangladeshi society.”
The organization has called for immediate international intervention to protect Bangladesh’s religious minorities and demanded accountability for both the perpetrators and state actors complicit in the violence. (Source: IANS)
