Last Updated on January 3, 2026 8:27 pm by INDIAN AWAAZ
Zakir Hossain from Dhaka
Khokon Chandra Das, a Hindu businessman in Bangladesh who was brutally attacked with sharp weapons and set on fire on New Year’s Eve, died on Saturday morning while undergoing treatment at Dhaka’s National Burn and Plastic Surgery Institute, family members and doctors confirmed.
“Khokon Das, who was injured in a fire attack in Damudya upazila of Shariatpur, passed away at 7:20am today,” Dr Shaon Bin Rahman, professor at the National Burn Institute, told journalists.
Khokon Das, 50, ran a pharmacy and mobile banking business at Keurbhanga Bazar in Shariatpur, around 150 km south of Dhaka. According to police and family members, the attack took place around 9:30pm on Wednesday (December 31) as he was returning home after closing his shop. Miscreants allegedly attacked him, poured petrol on him and set him on fire.
Despite sustaining severe burns, Khokon managed to jump into a nearby pond, which helped douse the flames that had engulfed his head and face, after which the attackers fled. Locals rescued him and first took him to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital. He was later shifted to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and then to the National Burn Institute, where he had been in the ICU since late Thursday night.
Khokon’s nephew Prashant Das said his condition deteriorated early Saturday. “He died while receiving treatment in the ICU. We are now at Shahbagh police station to complete the legal process. After the autopsy, we will take his body to the village for burial today,” he said.
Khokon’s wife, Seema Das, earlier told journalists that she could not understand why her husband had been targeted. “We have no dispute with anyone on any issue. We don’t understand why my husband was suddenly targeted,” she said in Bangla, breaking down outside the hospital. She added that her husband had recognised two of the attackers before being set on fire and said the assailants were Muslims, urging the police and the government to protect her family.
Before his death, Khokon named two alleged attackers, Sohag Khan (27) and Rabbi Molya (21). Police later identified a third person, Palash Sardar (25), who was allegedly present during the attack. All three have been named as accused in a case filed by Khokon’s father, Paresh Chandra Das, at Damudya police station on Thursday night.
The incident triggered protests by traders at Keurbhanga Bazar and residents of Tilai village, who demanded the immediate arrest of the accused. “We have received information that Khokon Chandra Das has died while undergoing treatment in Dhaka. Police are trying to arrest the accused named in the case,” Damudya police station officer-in-charge Mohammad Rabiul Haque said.
Khokon’s death adds to a growing list of attacks on Hindu minorities in Bangladesh in recent weeks, including the killings of Dipu Chandra Das and Bajendra Biswas. The incidents have drawn sharp reactions from human rights groups and concern from India, which has repeatedly flagged what it called “unremitting hostility” towards minorities in Bangladesh.
While officials of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government have said minorities are being protected, ground reports have raised questions over their safety. In a statement, the Bangladesh government reiterated that it remains committed to protecting minority communities.