Dhaka, Dec 23: Members of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), along with activists from several other Hindu organisations including the Bajrang Dal, staged a large protest outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi on Tuesday, condemning the mob lynching of a Hindu man in Bangladesh last week.
The demonstration was triggered by the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old garment factory worker, whose death sparked widespread outrage among Hindu groups in India. Anticipating the protest, security agencies imposed heavy restrictions around the diplomatic mission, deploying nearly 15,000 police and paramilitary personnel and erecting three layers of barricades to prevent protesters from reaching the premises.
Despite the extensive security arrangements, police struggled to contain hundreds of demonstrators, some of whom allegedly pushed past barricades, raised slogans against the Bangladesh government and displayed placards demanding justice. One banner read, “Hindu rakt ki ek ek boond ka hisaab chahiye” (each drop of a Hindu’s blood must be accounted for).
Delhi Police also parked Delhi Transport Corporation buses along key routes to block the advancing crowd. Senior police officials said security forces managed to stop the protesters around 800 metres from the High Commission, ensuring that the diplomatic compound was not breached.
A protester said the agitation was intended to press the Indian government to take strong diplomatic measures and to demand strict action by Bangladeshi authorities against those responsible for the killing. He said the victim was brutally assaulted and murdered, and that accountability was required from both the perpetrators and the Bangladeshi police.
The Bangladesh government later condemned the protest and summoned the Indian High Commissioner to formally convey its objection to the demonstration outside its diplomatic mission.
According to reports, Dipu Das was accused of blasphemy on December 18, after which he was allegedly forced to resign from his job and handed over to a mob. He was reportedly beaten to death, his body hung along the Dhaka–Mymensingh highway and later set on fire.
Bangladesh police have arrested at least 12 people in connection with the incident, while investigations remain underway.
