NEW DELHI, Apr 19 — India on Saturday condemned the brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu leader in Bangladesh’s Dinajpur district, and urged the neighbouring country to fulfil its duty of protecting minorities “without inventing excuses or making distinctions.”
Roy, 58, who served as the vice-president of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad’s Biral unit, was allegedly abducted from his home and beaten to death on Thursday. His killing comes amid growing concerns over attacks on minorities in Bangladesh.
“We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Shri Bhavesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh,” said Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal. “This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity,” he added.
The MEA also dismissed recent remarks by Dhaka regarding the protection of the Muslim minority in West Bengal, calling them a “disingenuous attempt” to divert attention from its own record. “We reject the remarks made by the Bangladesh side with regard to the incidents in West Bengal,” Jaiswal stated. “This is a barely disguised attempt to draw a false equivalence.”
His statement came after Bangladesh denied any link to the recent communal violence in Bengal’s Murshidabad district, which flared during protests over the Waqf (Amendment) Act. The clashes left three dead, including two Hindus allegedly killed by a mob and one Muslim man who died in firing by forces.
The Congress party also condemned Roy’s killing, calling it a “chilling reminder” of the deteriorating security of religious minorities in Bangladesh.
