Bangladesh is in the grip of fury following the barbaric lynching of a scrap dealer in Dhaka. Hundreds of university students protested on Saturday, seeking justice and denouncing the interim government for its inability to halt mob violence. The victim, Lal Chand Sohag, was killed by alleged extortionists who beat him with concrete slabs in the presence of Mitford Hospital in Old Dhaka on Wednesday.
A horrific video of the assault went viral, depicting perpetrators dancing over his corpse after checking whether he was dead. The gruesome act precipitated mass demonstrations on university campuses, pointing to an escalating crisis in law and order following the collapse of Sheikh Hasina's administration. The lynching also unearthed political connections as well as an escalating wave of communal violence since August 2024.
Students of Dhaka University, Jagannath University, BRAC University, NSU, East West University, and Eden College staged protest rallies. They brought placards and shouted slogans such as, "Who gave you beasts the right to kill people?"
They demanded immediate justice for Sohag and accountability from the interim government. Witnesses informed local media that students blamed the authorities for neglect of growing mob violence.
The police have arrested five individuals in connection with the lynching. Local reports indicate involvement of 19 known individuals and 15–20 unknown suspects.
Protesters criticized the government's response as too slow. The interim administration hasn't made a distinct public statement relating to the broad concern.
According to news agency BDNews24, Jubo Dal, the youth wing of the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), included several attackers in Sohag's lynching. New inquiries concerning the involvement of political groups in street-level violence have been raised by the incident. According to eyewitnesses and early investigations, Sohag might have been the target of the attackers after he resisted extortion attempts.
Four accused members were kicked out of the BNP's youth front after the backlash. In a statement, the party denied any organizational connection to the attack and distanced itself from the incident. However, detractors contend that the expulsion was not a proactive measure against violence, but rather occurred only after the video provoked public outrage.
Mob violence has increased in Bangladesh after the bloody removal of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina's 16-year Awami League government. On July 10, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council disclosed that minority groups had been attacked 2,442 times between August 4, 2024, and July 2025. The majority of them took place during the first wave of political unrest that occurred last August.
The lynching of Sohag is not an isolated case. It is a grim reminder that the rule of law in Bangladesh hangs by a thread—and public faith is fading fast.
