Amid Unrest And Minority Killings, Bangladesh’s Yunus-Led Interim Govt Rolls Out Damage Control

New Delhi: Developments in Bangladesh since Wednesday, making the headlines, suggest that the interim administration led by Muhammad Yunus now has a plan to counter the negative image developing from widespread arson and killings.

On Wednesday, Khuda Baksh Chowdhury, Bangladesh’s special assistant (Ministry of Home Affairs) to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, submitted his resignation, which was accepted and announced through a gazette notification within hours.

In a separate development, regional media reported the lynching of yet another Hindu man in Rajbari district on the same day. Police said that Amrit Mondal, also known as Samrat, was an extortionist who was allegedly attacked over claims that he was trying to collect money. There were no clear indications whether he was targeted because of his religion.

Various theories on his alleged “connections” with India and the deposed Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina also began to be unearthed. Even as Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) Acting Chairman Tarique Rahman on Thursday announced he has a plan for his countrymen and the country, the interim administration had rolled out a different set of its own against global condemnation.

In the first case, Chowdhury’s resignation and prompt acceptance showed the administration’s intentions to hold guilty people associated with the maintenance of law-and-order. In the second instance, the prompt establishment of the dark past of the deceased saved the interim government the embarrassment of facing another “targeted killing” allegation after the violent killing of Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh a week earlier.

The killing took place amidst the unrest following the death of Osman Hadi, a well-known student leader among those leading the August movement last year against former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Dipu, a 27‑year‑old Hindu garment worker, was killed by a mob in Bhaluka after being accused of blasphemy. Reports said he was beaten brutally and had his body set on fire. The administration condemned the killing and arrested several suspects, but the incident underscored the vulnerability of minorities and the dangers of unchecked rumor‑driven violence in times of political unrest.

Samrat, meanwhile, was said to have been facing several criminal cases, including murder. Local reports quoted villagers that he was part of a gang and was in hiding somewhere in India after Hasina was removed from power following the August 2024 uprising.

Though it was not clear why he decided to return, and take to crime again in the current situation. Justice, however, does not lie in mob brutality.

Meanwhile, it was to oversee security measures that Chowdhury, a former Inspector General of Police (IGP), was appointed as a special assistant to Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus on November 10 last year.

Bangladesh newspaper The Daily Star quoted unnamed senior officials saying that he was appointed following last year’s mass uprising, with the expectation that he would play a pivotal role in restoring discipline and boosting morale within law enforcement agencies, particularly the police. Those expectations were not met, they claimed, while one elaborated, “He needed to resign due to his failure to perform at the expected level and shortcomings in crisis management,” the report added.

(IANS)