PATUAKHALI, BANGLADESH
— Tensions and security concerns among religious minorities in southern Bangladesh have heightened following serious death threats against a local Hindu businessman, Gobinda Chandra Mondal, by a political figure.
Gobinda Chandra Mondal, a trader based in the Bauphal Upazila of Patuakhali district, reported receiving extortion demands and life-threatening phone calls after announcing his candidacy for the chairman position in the upcoming local Union Parishad elections.
According to Mondal, the perpetrator demanded 5 million BDT (approx. $42,000 USD) in extortion money and insisted on the immediate removal of his election campaign banners. The situation escalated when an audio recording, now widely circulated on social media, exposed Farid Uddin Gazi, a local leader of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), issuing severe death threats. In the recorded conversation, Gazi reportedly threatened to burn the Hindu businessman alive before his death.
Fearing for his safety, Mondal filed a General Diary (GD) with the local Bauphal Police Station. On the evening of September 17, local law enforcement arrested Farid Uddin Gazi in connection with a separate cheque fraud warrant, while police confirmed that legal proceedings regarding the death threats and extortion allegations against Mondal are actively underway.
Human rights advocates and community representatives continue to emphasize the urgent need for enhanced protection of minority candidates and citizens in regional election cycles, highlighting growing concerns over political intimidation and religious vulnerability in the country.
