New Delhi/Dhaka, Jan 18: A Hindu fuel station worker was crushed to death in Bangladesh after he tried to stop a vehicle from leaving a petrol pump without paying, police said.
It has not been confirmed whether the incident, which took place on Friday in Rajbari district, is related to the recent spate of violence targeting Hindus in Bangladesh.
The victim has been identified as 30-year-old Ripon Saha, The Daily Star newspaper reported on Saturday, quoting police officials.
He was working at Karim Filling Station in Goalanda Mor at the time of the incident, it said.
“We will file a murder case. The worker stood in front of the car after they refused to pay for fuel, and they ran him over before fleeing.” Rajbari Sadar Police chief Khondakar Ziaur Rahman was quoted as saying by news portal bdnews24.com.
According to police and eyewitnesses, a black SUV arrived at the filling station around 4:30 am on Friday and took fuel worth about Tk 5,000 (approx INR 3,710). When the driver attempted to leave without paying, Saha tried to block the vehicle. The car allegedly ran him over and sped away, killing him on the spot.
Another worker, Jakir Hossain, also ran after them and later found Ripon’s body on the highway with severe injuries to the head and face, the report said.
Police later seized the vehicle and arrested its owner, Abul Hashem alias Sujan, 55, and his driver Kamal Hossain, 43.
Hashem, a former treasurer of Rajbari district Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and former president of the district Jubo Dal, is a contractor by profession, police said.
When asked who was driving at the time of the incident, the officer said the incident is being investigated, the report said.
According to the 2022 census, the Hindu population in Bangladesh is approximately 13.13 million, which accounts for about 7.95 per cent of the country’s total population.
Earlier this month, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) in a statement alleged that as the date of the general elections draws nearer, communal violence is increasing at an alarming rate in the country. Parliamentary polls are scheduled on February 12.
The forum alleged that the violence is aimed at preventing minority voters from casting votes for candidates of their choice.
The Council said it has recorded 51 incidents of communal violence in December 2025 alone.
A 42-year-old jeweller, identified as Prantosh Sarkar, was shot dead by miscreants at a school field in Narshingdi on December 2.
A 25-year-old garment factory worker, identified as Dipu Chandra Das, was lynched to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy in Mymensingh city on December 18. His body was then set on fire.
Another Hindu man, identified as Amrit Mondal, was lynched over alleged extortion in Rajbari town’s Pangsha upazila on December 24.
Khokon Chandra Das, 50, was brutally attacked, hacked and set on fire by miscreants while returning home after closing his shop on the night of December 31. He died in a hospital three days later on January 3.
A 40-year-old grocery shop owner, identified as Moni Chakraborty, was murdered by unidentified attackers who struck him with a sharp weapon on the night of January 5 at Charsindhur Bazar in Palash Upazila.
Rana Pratap Bairagi, a 38-year-old ice-making factory owner, who was also the acting editor of a newspaper called ‘Dainik BD Khabar’ published from Narail, was fatally shot in the head by unidentified assailants on January 5 in Jessore district.
A 25-year-old man, identified as Mithun Sarkar, on Jan 6 died after he jumped into a canal to escape a mob which accused him of theft in Naogaon district.
Liberation War veteran and retired primary school headmaster, Jogesh Chandra Roy (70) and his wife Shubarna Roy were killed at the Taraganj area of Rangpur on December 7. Their blood-stained bodies were found on the kitchen floor of their house.(PTI)
