India slams Bangla over Hindu leader's killing

New Delhi: India has issued a strong diplomatic rebuke to Bangladesh following the kidnapping and killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu minority leader in northern Bangladesh.

In a sharply worded statement, the Ministry of External Affairs condemned the incident and accused the Muhammad Yunus-led Bangladeshi interim government of failing to protect its minority communities.

"We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh," the ministry said in a statement. "This killing follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government even as the perpetrators of previous such events roam with impunity." The statement continued: "We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions."

Roy, 58, was kidnapped from his home in Basudebpur village in Dinajpur district - located about 330 kilometres northwest of Dhaka -and later found dead. According to local media reports citing police and family members, Roy received a phone call around 4:30 pm on Wednesday, believed to be from the men who would later attack him.

According to reports, roughly thirty minutes after the call, four individuals arrived at Roy's home on two motorcycles. They reportedly kidnapped him and took him to Narabari village, where he was assaulted. Family members said that Roy was returned to his home in an unconscious state.

He was transported to a hospital in Dinajpur, where he was declared dead on arrival.