Taslima Nasreen alleges Hindu man lynched in Bangladesh over false blasphemy claim

Days after a Hindu man was lynched in Bangladesh over alleged derogatory remarks against Prophet Muhammad, exiled Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen on Saturday (December 20), alleged that the deceased was labelled with false allegations by a “Muslim coworker” who, in a bid to settle a score with him, announced that Dipu Chandra Das had made offensive remarks against the Prophet.

Taslima, in a post on X, shared purported footage of Dipu under police protection, alleging that after the initial assault, Dipu denied the allegation, but even then police did not try to apprehend the coworker. Taslima asked whether police deliberately handed over Dipu to the mob or the crowd overpowered the police to snatch Dipu away.

'Wanted to punish him over trivial matter’

“Dipu Chandra Das worked at a factory in Bhaluka, Mymensingh. He was a poor laborer. One day, a Muslim coworker wanted to punish him over some trivial matter, so in the middle of a crowd he announced that Dipu had made derogatory remarks about the Prophet. That was enough. Frenzied followers of the Prophet pounced on Dipu like hyenas and began to tear him apart. Eventually the police rescued him and took him into custody—meaning Dipu was under police protection,” stated Taslima.

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“Dipu told the police what had happened, stated that he was innocent, that he had made no comment whatsoever about the Prophet, and that it was all a conspiracy by that coworker. The police did not go after the coworker,” she said.

Taslima question’s police’s role

Elaborating further, Taslima said, “Was it in the excess of this jihadist zeal that they threw Dipu back to those fanatics? Or did jihadist militants shove the police aside and take Dipu out of the station? They held a full-blown celebration—beating Dipu, hanging him, burning him—a jihadist festival.”

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The controversial author said that Dipu was the sole bread earner of his family, supporting his disabled father, mother, wife, and child.

“What will happen to them now? Who will help the relatives? Who will bring the mad murderers to justice? Dipu’s family doesn’t even have the money to flee to India to escape the jihadists’ hands. The poor have no one. They have no country left, not even a religion left,” she added.