Elderly Hindu man thrashed over false blasphemy claim in Bangladesh

Dhaka: 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. (IANS)

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