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Bangladesh Police arrested a 23-year-old Hindu youth in connection with an alleged incident involving the desecration of the Holy Quran in Mymensingh district, officials said on Wednesday.
The accused, identified as Shawan Chandra Das, is the son of Sadhan Chandra Das from the Majipara area of Gauripur in the Mymensingh district in Bangladesh. According to police, the incident triggered strong reactions among local residents after an allegedly objectionable image related to the Holy Quran was posted from the accused's IMO account, which is an international instant messaging and video calling platform. "The accused Hindu youth had posted an image of the holy Quran on his IMO account in a way that was considered disrespectful, which sparked a strong reaction among local residents. He had been on the run since the incident, which took place on Tuesday. Today, Wednesday, he was arrested by the police of Tejgaon Thana in Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh," Mymensingh Police Superintendent Md Kamru Hasan told ANI over the phone. The police official, however, did not elaborate further on the nature of the post or possible charges against the accused. The Mymensingh district has been a centre for minotty attacks in Bangladesh, particularly against people of the Hindu religion. Earlier this year, an incident of an attack on minorities was reported when a Hindu businessman was killed by unidentified individuals in the Trishal area of the district. According to the Bangladesh police, the deceased was identified as 60-year-old Sushen Chandra Sarkar, and the incident came to light after Sarkar failed to return home late on February 9. "Sushen Chandra Sarkar was a businessman. When he didn't return home at night, his son repeatedly called him, but received no answer. Eventually, the son went to his father's shop and discovered him wounded by notorious criminals, with a head injury caused by a sharp weapon. After being taken to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, despite the doctors' efforts, he was declared dead", Hasan Israfil, the police's ASP of Trishal Circle, told ANI, over the phone on February 10. On December 18, 2025, a mob lynched Dipu Chandra Das, a worker in a garment factory, in the same district. According to reports, Dipu Das, who was beaten to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy charges, had his body hanged and set on fire. The Daily Star, citing Mymensingh's Additional Superintendent of Police, Abdullah Al Mamun, stated that a factory official had informed Bhaluka police that a group of workers attacked Dipu inside the factory, accusing him of making "derogatory remarks about the Holy Prophet Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH)" in a Facebook post. Factory sources told The Daily Star that the assailants later took Dipu out of the factory premises, where residents also joined the attack, resulting in his death. However, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB)-14 Company Commander in Mymensingh, Md Samsuzzaman, told The Daily Star that investigators found no evidence suggesting the deceased had posted or written anything on Facebook that could have hurt religious sentiments, adding that neither residents nor fellow garment factory workers could point to any such activity by the victim. Last year, the interim government of Bangladesh released data on incidents affecting minority communities and the broader law-and-order situation in 2025. According to the official review of police records shared by the Chief Adviser of the Interim Government, Muhammad Yunus, the country documented 645 incidents involving members of minority communities, compiled from verified First Information Reports, General Diaries, charge sheets, and police investigation updates nationwide. (ANI)
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