No evidence of religious slurs in Mymensingh killing, 10 held: RAB

The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has said it found no evidence of religious slurs in the incident in which a youth was beaten to death and his body set on fire in Bhaluka of Mymensingh.

RAB-14 disclosed the findings at a press conference at its Mymensingh headquarters on Saturday, December 20, afternoon.

So far, 10 people have been arrested in connection with the incident. Most of them were detained during a drive in the Square Masterbari area of Bhaluka around midnight on Friday. 

The arrestees are Md Tarek Hossain, 19, Md Limon Sarkar, Md Manik Mia, 20, Ershad Ali, 39, Nijhum Uddin, 20, Alamgir Hossain, 38, Md Miraj Hossain Akand, 46, Md Ajmal Hasan Sagir, 26, Md Shahin Mia, 19, and Md Nazmul, 21. Of them, Md Ajmal Hasan Sagir, Md Shahin Mia and Md Nazmul were arrested by police.

Mymensingh RAB-14 commander Naimul Hasan said Dipu Chandra Das was beaten to death with a crude weapon after being accused of insulting religion, and his body was later set on fire. 

However, RAB found no evidence to substantiate the allegation. “No one could specifically say whether he insulted religion while speaking to someone or through social media,” he said, adding that the killing was a clear case of taking the law into one’s own hands.

He said arrests were made after reviewing CCTV footage and that investigators were also probing whether the incident involved mob agitation or stemmed from any prior enmity.

“Killing someone on such an allegation, hanging the body from a tree and setting it on fire is in no way permissible under the law. The government and law enforcement agencies do not consider such acts acceptable,” the RAB official said.

According to RAB, Dipu Chandra Das was forced to resign from his job after a crowd gathered at the Pioneer Knit Composite factory. 

He was later handed over to the mob instead of the police and was subsequently killed and his body burned. The factory’s floor manager, Alamgir Hossain, and in-charge Md Miraj Hossain Akand have been arrested for allegedly handing the youth over to the public rather than law enforcement.

District Additional Superintendent of Police (Administration) Abdullah Al Mamun said no one has the right to take the law into their own hands. 

He added that the circumstances under which the youth was handed over to the mob were under investigation, and three people had already been arrested in a joint operation by the District Detective Branch and Bhaluka Police.

The incident occurred on Thursday night when Dipu Chandra Das was accused of insulting the Holy Prophet (PBUH) in the Dubaliapara area of Bhaluka, sparking tension in the locality. 

Around 9:00pm, an angry mob assaulted him, killing him on the spot. The mob later hung his body from a tree beside the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and set it on fire.

Police recovered the body and sent it to the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital morgue for an autopsy.