B'desh: Another prime accused arrested in Mymensingh lynching of Hindu youth Dipu Chandra Das

Dhaka [Bangladesh], January 8 (ANI): The Detective Branch (DB) of Bangladesh police on Thursday arrested another prime accused in connection with the murder of Hindu Youth, Dipu Chandra Das, in Mymensingh district.
The arrested accused, identified as 25-year-old Md Yasin Arafat, is a resident of South Hobirbari's Karaitola Mor in the district and was apprehended on Wednesday from the Sarulia area under the Demra Police Station in Dhaka.
The arrest was made with the assistance of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), the DB said in a statement.
On December 18, 2025, a mob lynched Dipu Chandra Das, a worker in a garment factory, in Bangladesh's Mymensingh 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.
According to investigators, Md Yasin Arafat played a leading role in the incident, allegedly leading a group of people by raising slogans at the factory gate, actively participated in the brutal assault and was also involved in his death.
The DB further said that the accused also led the act of dragging the victim's body with a rope and later burning it in the Square Masterbari area.
The murder has been described by police as a brutal killing in one of the country's major industrial zones.
The DB noted that although Md Yasin Arafat is a permanent resident of Bhaluka, he had been living elsewhere for the past 18 months.
After the murder, the accused went into hiding for about 12 days. Preliminary investigations revealed that while absconding, he stayed at various madrasas in the Sarulia area under the Demra Police Station in Dhaka and, in an attempt to conceal his identity, joined Sufa Madrasa as a teacher.
Based on earlier investigations, eyewitness accounts from the scene, the tense situation at the factory gate on the day of the incident, and statements from other arrested accused, police said that Md Yasin Arafat's involvement has been clearly established.
The DB said operations are ongoing to arrest other absconding accused involved in the case.
So far, a total of 21 accused have been arrested in connection with the murder of Dipu Chandra Das. Among them, three key witnesses have recorded statements before the court under Section 164 of the Code of Criminal Procedure of Bangladesh, while nine accused have given confessional statements under the same section.
Police said 18 accused have already been remanded to jail, and the process of seeking remand for the remaining accused is underway. (ANI)