Lalmonirhat, Bangladesh / San Jose, USA — June 23, 2025
An elder Hindu barber, Sri Poresh Chandra Shil (69), was falsely accused of blasphemy and savagely beaten by a mob in Lalmonirhat, Bangladesh. His son was manhandled while pleading with the attackers to spare his father’s life. Instead of protecting them, local police enabled the violence, with a senior officer promising fabricated charges to ensure Shil’s lifelong imprisonment — in flagrant violation of Bangladesh’s Constitution and international human rights law.
A False Blasphemy Claim to Justify Violence
The incident began on June 20 around 2:30 PM, when Md. Abdul Ajiz, the self-proclaimed Imam of Al-Hera Jame Mosque in Namatari, visited Shil’s salon for a haircut. In his ajahar (formal complaint), Ajiz alleged that Shil made derogatory remarks about Islam’s prophet marrying a young girl. He stated that only Md. Najmul Islam (29) accompanied him at the time of the incident. However, the ajahar also listed other individuals — Md. Sajid Hussain (17), Md. Jubaier Hussain (35), Md. Tarek Hussain (28), and Md. Nurul Islam — as witnesses, without clarifying whether they were present during the alleged conversation or if they were later convinced to support the accusation.
This raises serious questions about the credibility of the complaint. In a country where Hindus and other minorities face systemic oppression, discrimination, and the constant threat of mob violence, would an elderly Hindu barber truly dare to make such a provocative statement in his own shop? The implausibility of this claim, combined with contradictory witness details, points to a pattern often seen in fabricated blasphemy cases — where opportunists exploit religious sentiment to target minorities for extortion, looting, and persecution.
Testimony from the Family: The Truth Behind the Blasphemy Allegation
While the formal complaint alleges blasphemy, the family of Sri Poresh Chandra Shil presents a vastly different reality. In a video statement obtained by HRCBM, Mrs. Dipti Rani Roy, Shil’s daughter-in-law, recounts how the incident unfolded:
👉 Md. Abdul Ajiz visited the salon for a haircut but refused to pay the 10 Taka service fee. When asked for payment, Ajiz became angry and left, only to return later with a false blasphemy accusation.
👉 The video details how the accusation was used to incite a violent mob, leading to the brutal thrashing of Sri Poresh Shil and the manhandling and beating of his son, who was begging for mercy for his father.
👉 The family vehemently denies any derogatory remarks were made, describing the accusation as a fabricated pretext for violence and looting — part of a broader pattern of extortion and persecution that minorities in Bangladesh endure regularly.
👉 In the video, Mrs. Roy appeals for justice and protection, highlighting the family’s shock at how easily false accusations are weaponized and how quickly mob violence is unleashed, abetted by complicit authorities.
Police Participation in Persecution
👉 The video below shows the local officer-in-charge making provocative and inflammatory statements to a frenzied mob — not based on any verified evidence or investigation, but solely on a hearsay ajahar (formal complaint). His words reflect a shocking abuse of authority and a complete disregard for due process.
In the footage, the officer states:
👉 “I have arrested him, and I will file such a case that he will spend his entire life behind bars.”
He further appeals to communal sentiment, saying:
👉 “You are here, you are a Muslim; I am the officer-in-charge, I am a Muslim too.”
👉 “The incident that happened burns my heart; I, too, have tears in my eyes just like you.”
These statements — made before any crime was established or investigated — emboldened the mob, which can then be heard chanting:
👉 “We want him hanged to death!”
👉 Rather than calming the crowd and upholding the law, the officer’s remarks fueled mob fury and signaled that the state stood with the attackers, not with justice.
Such conduct grossly violates:
Bangladesh’s Constitution (Articles 27, 28, and 31 — guaranteeing equality before the law, non-discrimination, and protection of life and liberty)
Bangladesh Penal Code Section 211 (criminalizing false or malicious accusations)
Bangladesh’s international obligations under the ICCPR (Articles 2, 7, 26) and the UDHR (Articles 7, 10)
👉 This incident is not an isolated failure. It reflects a systemic pattern of state-enabled persecution where law enforcement fuels the subjugation of minorities rather than protecting them.
Everyday Subjugation of Minorities
What transpired in Lalmonirhat reflects the institutionalized discrimination and societal hostility that Bangladesh’s religious minorities face. From looting of property and denial of justice, to the misuse of religion as a tool of oppression, minority communities live in fear of false accusations, mob attacks, and legal persecution. Their rights are denied at every turn — in law enforcement, the judiciary, and public life.
A Flicker of Resistance
Despite the climate of fear, a small group of students from Dhaka University courageously staged a protest condemning the attack on Shil and calling for justice — a rare public expression of solidarity that highlights both the risks and moral conscience that still exist within Bangladeshi society.
HRCBM’s Call to Action
HRCBM has dispatched a fact-finding team to investigate and document this incident and will submit its additional findings to international human rights bodies, including the United Nations, the International Criminal Court, and other global authorities. This case represents part of a broader, recurring pattern of violence and persecution that the organization has been systematically documenting.
HRCBM urgently calls for:
Immediate international intervention to protect Bangladesh’s minorities from further persecution and injustice.
Accountability for the perpetrators, as well as state officials who were complicit in or enabled the violence.
Global recognition of the ongoing and systematic denial of rights, dispossession, and subjugation of Bangladesh’s minority communities.
👉 “The daily lives of minorities in Bangladesh are marked by fear, injustice, and dispossession. The world must not remain indifferent as this crisis deepens.”
