Washington, DC [US], December 28 : US Congressman Ro Khanna has "unequivocally" condemned the lynching of a Hindu youth, Dipu Chandra Das, in Bangladesh, calling the killing an "act of hatred and bigotry".
In a post on X on Saturday, Khanna, a member of the US House of Representatives from California, reacted to the killing of Das, 27-year-old Hindu garment worker, and stressed the need for a strong and clear response to such incidents.
"The killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh is horrific and my thoughts and prayers are with his friends and family. We must unequivocally condemn and speak out against these vile acts of hatred and bigotry," his post read.
Khanna's remark comes in the backdrop of a mob lynching of the Hindu youth, Dipu Chandra Das, a worker in a garment factory, in Bangladesh's Mymensingh district.
According to reports, Dipu Das, who was beaten to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy charges, had his body hanged and set on fire on December 18.
The Daily Star, citing Mymensingh's Additional Superintendent of Police, Abdullah Al Mamun, stated that a factory official had informed Bhaluka police that a group of workers attacked Dipu inside the factory, accusing him of making "derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH)" in a Facebook post.
Factory sources told The Daily Star that the assailants later took Dipu out of the factory premises, where residents also joined the attack, resulting in his death.
However, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-14 Company Commander in Mymensingh, Md Samsuzzaman, told The Daily Star that investigators found no evidence suggesting the deceased had posted or written anything on Facebook that could have hurt religious sentiments, adding that neither residents nor fellow garment factory workers could point to any such activity by the victim.
The victim's brother, Apu Chandra Das, also filed a case at Bhaluka Police Station, naming 140 to 150 unidentified individuals as accused. The incident sparked widespread outrage and condemnation among political leaders, religious organisations and minority groups in Bangladesh and India.