Fact vs Fiction: Dinajpur death mired in politics

Staff Reporter :

The sudden death of a Hindu community leader in northern Bangladesh has become the centre of a growing storm of misinformation, transnational political rhetoric, and journalistic retractions, underscoring how local tragedies can quickly be reframed within broader geopolitical narratives.

Bhabesh Chandra Roy, 55, a farmer from Basudebpur village in Dinajpur’s Biral upazila, died on 17 April after collapsing and being taken to a local hospital. Initial reports – widely circulated by several Indian media outlets and echoed by a Bangladeshi newspaper – reported he was abducted and brutally beaten to death, framing the incident as part of a wider pattern of religious persecution under Bangladesh’s interim government. However, these claims are now under serious scrutiny.

According to the official complaint filed by his son, Swapan Chandra Roy, Bhabesh had borrowed Tk 25,000 from two local moneylenders, Atiqul Islam and Mohammad Ratan Islam. On the day of his death, the two men took him to the local market. He was later found unconscious and taken to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital, where he was declared dead on arrival.

“There were no signs of physical assault,” said Abdus Sabur, Officer-in-Charge of Biral Police Station, speaking to The New Nation. “Preliminary indications point to cardiac arrest, though we are awaiting the post-mortem report for confirmation.”

Dinajpur Superintendent of Police Marufat Hossain supported that assessment, citing eyewitness accounts that Bhabesh was seen eating fritters and smoking with the moneylenders prior to collapsing. No visible injuries were recorded in the police report.

Despite this, the victim’s family remains sceptical. “My father was in good health when he left home,” said Swapan. “It’s hard to accept that he simply died within hours. Even if there was no violence, stress or intimidation might have played a role.”

The case, which initially appeared to be a personal tragedy, has since escalated into an international controversy. Several Indian news outlets – labelled by critics as “Godi media” for their perceived alignment with the Indian government – reported the incident as indicative of systematic violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.

In response, Chief Adviser’s Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam issued a strong rebuttal. “It is unfortunate that the death of Mr Bhabesh Chandra Roy has been portrayed as part of a ‘pattern of systematic persecution’ under the interim government,” he said in a statement released through the state-run Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS). “We reject this baseless claim.”