Sister blames company officials after man killed by mob over ‘blasphemy’ in Mymensingh

He had ample knowledge about religion and was not the kind of person to insult the prophet, she says

The sister of a 28-year-old worker, who was beaten to death by a mob in Mymensingh’s Bhaluka Upazila over allegations of blasphemy, has accused company personnel of pushing him to his death.

Speaking on Friday, Champa Das said she had heard that her brother, Dipu Chandra Das, had a row with fellow workers and company management over production increases.

“That may be why he was brutally killed on false accusations,” she said.

“My brother had a Bachelor's degree, used a simple button phone, and had enough knowledge about religion. He was not the kind of person to insult the prophet. They could have handed my brother to the police instead of handing him over to the mob. Then maybe he would not have met such a brutal death.”

Dipu, son of Ravi Chandra Das of Mokamia Kanda village in Tarakanda Upazila, had been employed at Pioneer Knitwears BD Ltd in Jamirdia for the past two years.

On Thursday night, an angry mob beat Dipu to death, tied his body to a tree branch, and set it on fire.

The Dhaka-Mymensingh Highway was blocked for about two hours before police restored order and sent the half-burnt body to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy, Bhaluka Model Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Md Abdul Malek said.

“Dipu was our only breadwinner. I never imagined he would be killed like this. What was my son’s fault? If there were any allegations against him, the law should have dealt with it. We are poor, and we could not protect him,” Dipu’s father Ravi said.

The victim’s wife Meghna Rani said, “My only child has lost his father. I don’t know where to stand in this world of poverty. I want the state to ensure justice for his murder.”

The company’s security guard, Firoz Mia, said: “Dipu Chandra Das was asked to apologise, but he did not. When the news spread, a crowd gathered in front of the factory gate, vandalised property, and the management was forced to hand him over to the public.”

Bhaluka Model Police Station chief Jahedul Islam said the police could not intervene immediately due to the large crowd.

“Later, we controlled the situation and sent the body to the morgue around 2:30am. A case will be filed if the family complains,” he added.