Zakir Hossain From Dhaka
Bangladesh is witnessing widespread protests after a scrap metal trader, Lal Chand alias Sohag, was brutally lynched in broad daylight near Sir Salimullah Medical College (Mitford) Hospital in Dhaka on July 9. The 39-year-old was hacked, beaten, and stoned to death allegedly by members of the Jubo Dal, the youth wing of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)—reportedly over extortion money.
The shocking incident, captured on video and widely circulated on social media, has ignited mass outrage, particularly among students across major universities, including Dhaka University (DU), BUET, Jagannath University, Jahangirnagar University, and Rajshahi University.
The murder occurred around 6pm on Wednesday at the hospital’s third gate. Eyewitnesses claimed that over a dozen attackers used bricks and stones to ensure Sohag’s death, while bystanders, including Ansar personnel stationed at the hospital gate, did nothing to intervene.
Md Nur Nabi, a Jagannath University student leader, emotionally declared, “That stone wasn’t just thrown at my brother—it hit all our chests. What happened at Mitford mirrors the murder of Biswajit by the Chhatra League.” Protests erupted Friday and continued into Saturday night. At Jagannath University, hundreds marched from Shaheed Minar, parading through the Old Dhaka neighborhoods of Roy Shaheb Bazar, Tanti Bazar, Nayabazar, and Mitford Hospital. Similar demonstrations were held at Jahangirnagar University under the banner of Anti-Terror Unity.
“The BNP and its affiliated organisations are responsible for a wave of killings, rapes, and extortion. If they stand against the people, we will resist them as we did in July,” said Arifuzzaman Uzzal of the Democratic Students’ Union at Jahangirnagar University. Student protestors alleged that Jubo Dal members danced on Sohag’s body after stoning him to death, a chilling act symbolizing the breakdown of law and order under the current interim regime.
Bin Yamin Molla, President of Bangladesh Student Rights Council, said, “BNP was oppressed for 16 years, but now their youth wing is repeating the same oppression. If the oppressed become the oppressors, what justice remains?” DU student AB Zubayer accused the BNP of fostering a climate of impunity: “They are turning this country into a haven for extortionists and criminals.”
Even BNP’s student wing, Jatiyatabadi Chhatra Dal, joined Friday’s march at Dhaka University, demanding punishment for the killers. Saikat Arif, President of the Chhatra Federation, said, “Since Hasina’s fall, BNP leaders have been fighting among themselves over business control, leading to murders. BNP thinks expulsion is enough, but we demand they face trial.”
In response, Jubo Dal expelled two leaders—Razzab Ali Pintu and Sabah Karim Lucky for life. Both were named in the FIR filed by Sohag’s family. Four individuals, including Mahmudul Hasan Mohin (41) and Tarek Rahman Robin (22), have been arrested and placed on a five-day remand.
The ousted Awami League also condemned the lynching, calling it a symptom of mobocracy under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the party wrote: “The brutal murders expose mobocracy under the Yunus regime.” It also criticized public inaction during the attack, noting, “Onlookers and local businessmen stood by while Sohag was murdered. Even the Ansar members on duty did nothing.”