Delhi-Dhaka ties fray further as mob killing, political violence fuel protests

Diplomatic relations between India and Bangladesh have deteriorated sharply as protests and clashes erupted in both countries following the lynching of a factory worker in Bangladesh and the killing of a prominent youth leader, fueling public anger over minority safety and political violence.

In Bangladesh, Dipu Chandra Das, 27, was beaten to death by a mob in the Mymensingh area of northern Bangladesh, last Thursday, 18 December, a case that quickly reverberated in India and intensified an already tense diplomatic backdrop.

Bangladesh police have arrested at least 12 suspects in connection with the lynching, according to Reuters, which reported that the crowd accused Das of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet.

Bangladeshi investigators and local reporting have since complicated the initial narrative. The Dhaka Tribune reported that police inquiries and accounts from Das’s family and local representatives pointed to a workplace dispute as a likely trigger, after Das faced tensions at his garment factory around a promotion process and was dismissed earlier the same day.

The killing sparked demonstrations in India, including outside Bangladesh’s mission in New Delhi, as well as protests reported by Indian media in multiple cities. Reuters described hundreds protesting in New Delhi, with rallies reported in other urban centers as groups demanded stronger action on minority safety in Bangladesh.

Tit-for-tat summons

The street protests quickly spilled into diplomatic channels. India and Bangladesh have summoned each other’s envoys in recent days, trading formal complaints over security and public order around their diplomatic premises.

Bangladesh called in India’s High Commissioner in Dhaka, Pranay Verma, to protest what it described as violent incidents targeting Bangladesh’s diplomatic facilities in India, including a protest outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and vandalism at a visa center in Siliguri.

India, in turn, summoned Bangladesh’s High Commissioner in New Delhi, M. Riaz Hamidullah, in what Bangladesh’s media described as a renewed diplomatic protest.

The diplomatic back-and-forth has been accompanied by disruptions to consular services.

The Dhaka Tribune reported that Bangladesh suspended consular and visa operations at its High Commission in New Delhi and its assistant mission in Agartala, citing security concerns.

On the Indian side, Delhi suspended visa operations in Chittagong following a security incident linked to unrest in Bangladesh.

Unrest after youth leader’s killing

The tensions are unfolding amid broader political volatility in Bangladesh following the killing of Sharif Osman Hadi, a youth leader linked to the 2024 protest movement, on 12 December.

Al Jazeera reported that Hadi died in a Singapore hospital after being shot in Dhaka, and his death helped set off large demonstrations and clashes.

International reporting has described a surge in mob violence and attacks on media outlets in the wake of the unrest.

The Guardian reported that mobs targeted newspaper offices and civil society spaces in Dhaka and cited figures from Bangladeshi rights group Ain o Salish Kendra showing a sharp rise in mob-violence deaths this year, intensifying concerns about law and order ahead of the election.

Mobs attacked and set fire to major newspaper offices, including Prothom Alo and The Daily Star, in Dhaka and other cities, trapping staff and raising fears for press freedom.

Bangladesh’s interim leader, Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, has publicly condemned violence and promised accountability, while authorities have announced arrests linked to incidents during the unrest, according to multiple reports.

Tarique Rahman prepares to return

The unrest is intersecting with major political developments. Reuters reported that Tarique Rahman, acting head of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and seen by supporters as a leading contender for national leadership, is set to return to Bangladesh after nearly 17 years in exile in London, with the BNP planning a large reception in Dhaka.

The Dhaka Tribune also reported that the government had welcomed Rahman’s return and outlined logistics around his travel and reception.

The current flare-up is also layered over a longer-running argument over former prime minister Sheikh Hasina, who fled to India after being ousted.

Bangladesh has pressed India to hand her over, and international reporting has noted Dhaka’s extradition demand as another point of friction between the neighbors.