India on Saturday condemned the alleged abduction and killing of a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh and called on the interim government in Dhaka to live up to its responsibility of protecting the minorities. Ministry of External Affairs(MEA)spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the “brutal killing” of Bhabesh Chandra Roy follows a “pattern of systematic persecution” of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh.”We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh,” he said in his social media post.
“This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” Jaiswal said.
“We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions,” he added.
The Congress also condemned the killing and demanded that the government take up the matter with Dhaka, saying silence and inaction were not options when such targeted violence was being allowed to take root.
Reacting to the killing, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the party stood in solidarity with the Hindu community in Bangladesh and added the government should ensure efforts were made to ensure transparent action to bring the culprits to book. “The Indian National Congress strongly condemns the brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent leader of the Hindu community in Dinajpur, Bangladesh. The abduction and assault leading to his tragic death is a chilling reminder of the growing sense of insecurity among religious minorities in the region,” he said in a post on X.
Noting that this was not an isolated incident, he said there had been repeated and deeply disturbing instances of attacks on minority communities in Bangladesh over the past months — from desecration of
Hindu temples to targeted attacks on the homes and businesses of minorities.
“This pattern of intimidation and brutality cannot be ignored,” Ramesh said.
Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge said that according to the government’s reply in Parliament, there were 76 attacks on Hindus in the previous two months, leading to the deaths of 23 Hindus.
“Recently the chief advisor of Bangladesh made a very condemnable and disappointing comment about the northeastern states of India. The atrocities against religious minorities in Bangladesh, human rights violations and the attempt to eliminate the memories of the 1971 Liberation War are efforts to weaken the relations between India and Bangladesh,” Kharge said.
From 1971 to today, the Congress president said, India had always sought peace and prosperity for all the people of Bangladesh as it was in the best interest of the subcontinent.
There has been a sharp downturn in India-Bangladesh relations after deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina fled Dhaka in August last year in the face of a massive anti-government protest.
The relations nosedived dramatically after the interim government headed by Muhammad Yunus failed to contain attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in that country.
Protect minorities without excuses: India tells Bangladesh
Last year, following the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das at Dhaka airport, India repeatedly reminded Bangladesh of its duty to protect the rights of minorities.
Even Jaiswal urged the Yunus administration to protect minorities, while stating that the reported acts of violence against minorities can’t be dismissed as “media exaggeration.”
According to local media reports on Friday, the body of 58-year-old Bhabesh Chandra Roy was recovered on Thursday night after he was allegedly kidnapped from his house in north Bangladesh.
Roy’s wife told The Daily Star that he had received a call around 4:30 pm, allegedly made by the accused to find out if he was present at that time. She further claimed that her husband was forcefully taken from their premises half an hour later and taken to Narabari village, where he was allegedly beaten up.
When Roy was sent back to his home in an unconscious state, the neighbours rushed him to a nearby hospital, where he was declared dead. According to local reports, the police are yet to locate the suspects in connection with Roy’s brutal murder.