According to police on Wednesday, a 25-year-old Hindu man in Bangladesh died after attempting to flee a mob that was pursuing him on suspicion of stealing by jumping into a canal. The incident happened in the Naogaon district's Mahadebpur neighborhood. The man was identified as Mithun Sarkar by Naogao Police Super (SP) Mohammad Tariqul Islam, according to the news agency ANI.

The neighboring country, which is getting ready for its first parliamentary elections since the 2024 uprising that overthrew the Sheikh Hasina government, has seen a sharp increase in violence against religious minorities.

"A mob accused a young Hindu man named Mithun Sarkar of stealing and pursued him in the Mohadevpur neighborhood of Bangladesh's northern district of Naogaon. He leaped into the water, whereupon he perished. The police were informed, and they recovered his body with the help of the fire service. "We are looking into the incident and performing a post-mortem," stated Muhammad Tariqul Islam.

Since the death of well-known student leader Sharif Osman Hadi in December of last year, Bangladesh has been experiencing unrest, and this is the most recent incident in a string of attacks against Hindus.

The latest incident occurred shortly after a 40-year-old Hindu grocery store owner in Narsingdi city was murdered. Sarat Mani Chakraborty, a Hindu man, was reportedly killed in Bangladesh, according to local media. Around 10 p.m. on Monday, a grocery store owner named Sarat Mani was allegedly attacked with sharp objects in the Narsingdi district. His wounds later claimed his life.

Notably, while operating his store at the bustling market under Palash upazila, Chakraborty was attacked by unknown assailants. He was critically injured during the attack and was taken to the hospital by locals, but he passed away either en route or soon after being admitted.

Another 45-year-old factory owner was shot and killed in the Jashore district just hours before he was killed. A group of men shot Rana Pratap in the head and cut his throat. Pratap was also the acting editor of a newspaper. He allegedly had several cases brought against him, according to locals.

Khokon Chandra Das, 50, was brutally attacked, hacked, and burned to death earlier on January 3. Amrit Mondal, another Hindu man, was allegedly lynched on December 24 in the Pangsha upazila of Rajbari town after being accused of extortion.

On December 18, the first known attack after Hadi's passing took place. Following the news of Hadi's death, a mob lynched Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu man, on charges of blasphemy. According to reports, his body was tied to a tree and burned. The accusations of blasphemy were later shown to be false by further investigations.

Concerns about attacks on minorities, particularly Hindus, in Bangladesh have been voiced by India. According to the daily, Bairagi, who ran an ice factory in Monirampur's Kopaliya Bazar, also served as the acting editor of the Narail-based newspaper "Dainik BD Khabar."

According to Additional Police Superintendent Abul Basar, the incident was reported at Kopaliya Bazaar on Monday at approximately 5:45 p.m., according to the bdnews24 news portal.

Mob violence and covert attacks have become a major crisis in Bangladesh's altered political landscape, according to political observers. The country's minority community has been the target of a wave of violence in recent weeks. According to the 2022 census, there are roughly 13.13 million Hindus in Bangladesh, making up 7.95% of the country's total population.