GANGNI, Bangladesh — Muslim villagers beat a 22-year-old Christian man in April for defending Christian girls against routine harassment and bullying, sources said.
Sipon Mondol was beaten April 20 while returning to his native village of Nittanandapur from Gangni, Meherpur district, some 120 miles west of the capital city of Dhaka, his father said.
On April 15, at a cultural event to celebrate the Bengali New Year, Poresh Mondol said his son had defended Christian girls against the slurs of a group of young Muslim men in an exchange that led to a gang fight.
The Mondol family informed the parents of the young Muslim men, and village elders assured the Christians that they would resolve the long-standing problem, telling them that such harassment would not happen again, he said.
“After the complaint, though, those Muslim boys became more predatory,” he said. “He was severely beaten. He was treated in the hospital for one day and released April 21.”
Gangni Police Inspector Motiur Rahman said authorities were taking the proper steps in response to the Christians’ complaint but had so far arrested only one of the seven Muslim suspects.
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