Hindu Shop Owner Beaten to Death With Shovel in Bangladesh; 3 Arrested

In Bangladesh, a Hindu shop owner, Liton Chandra Ghosh, was beaten to death with a shovel. He had intervened to protect his employee during a dispute with a customer. The customer and his parents then fatally attacked Ghosh.

A Hindu shop owner in Bangladesh was brutally beaten to death with a shovel after intervening in a dispute between a customer and his teenage employee, police confirmed, in the latest violent incident affecting the country’s minority communities.

The victim, 55-year-old Liton Chandra Ghosh, also known as Kali, ran the Baishakhi Sweetmeat and Hotel in the Kaliganj area of Gazipur district. The confrontation began on Saturday morning, Jan. 17, 2026, when 28-year-old Masum Mia, a customer, got into a verbal dispute with Ghosh’s 17-year-old employee, Ananta Das. Eyewitnesses and local police say the argument soon escalated into a violent altercation.

According to police, Masum’s parents — Mohammad Swapan Mia and Majeda Khatun — also joined the attack after the initial scuffle. When Ghosh stepped in to protect his employee and calm the situation, the trio turned on him. He was pounced on by the group, first punched and kicked, and ultimately struck on the head with a shovel, which proved fatal. Ghosh collapsed and died at the scene before he could receive medical attention.

Local residents intervened after the attack and detained all three suspects, handing them over to police. According to Gazipur’s Kaliganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Zakir Hossain, legal proceedings are underway and the suspects remain in custody as the investigation proceeds.

The killing has triggered anger and fear among local communities, particularly as it comes on the heels of other violent incidents targeting minorities. Just a day earlier, a 30-year-old Hindu petrol station worker named Ripon Saha was crushed to death by a vehicle when he tried to stop the driver from fleeing without paying for fuel, and the driver and accomplices were subsequently arrested.

Bangladesh’s Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, a rights group that advocates for minority protections, has expressed deep concern over the pattern of violence against minority citizens in the lead-up to the country’s general elections. The organisation has warned that such attacks create an atmosphere of fear and intimidation among vulnerable communities.

India has also commented on the wave of incidents, stating that it is monitoring the situation closely and urging decisive action to protect minorities. With communal tensions already high, this fatal incident underscores growing worries about safety, communal harmony, and law and order in Bangladesh’s diverse society.