Bangladesh: Hindu petrol pump worker dies after customer runs him over; BNP leader arrested

NEW DELHI: A 30-year-old Bangladeshi Hindu man, employed at a fuel station, died after being allegedly run over by a driver who attempted to leave without paying for fuel, police said.The incident took place on Friday in Rajbari district. The victim was identified as Ripon Saha.Police have seized the vehicle, an SUV, and arrested its owner Abul Hashem, also known as Sujan, 55, along with his driver Kamal Hossain, 43. Hashem, a contractor by profession, is a member of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party and a former district president of its youth wing, the Jubo Dal.According to police and eyewitnesses, the black SUV arrived at the Karim Filling Station in Goalanda Mor around 4:30 am on Friday and took fuel worth about Tk 5,000 (approximately INR 3,710).

When the driver attempted to leave without paying, Saha tried to block the vehicle. The car allegedly ran him over and sped away, killing him on the spot.“We will file a murder case. The worker stood in front of the car after they refused to pay for fuel, and they ran him over before fleeing,” senior police official Ziaur Rahman told news portal bdnews24.com.Though the incident comes amid a recent spate of violence targeting Hindus in Bangladesh, it was not immediately clear whether there was any communal angle to Saha’s death.

According to the 2022 census, Bangladesh’s Hindu population is approximately 1.31 crore, making up about 8% of the country’s total population.Earlier this month, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) alleged in a statement that communal violence in the country is rising sharply as the general elections approach. Parliamentary polls are scheduled for February 12.The council claims to have recorded 51 incidents of communal violence in December 2025 alone and said the violence is aimed at preventing minority voters from supporting candidates of their choice.Ties between neighbours India and Bangladesh have been tense since the August 2024 ouster of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a student-led uprising. Hasina has been living in Delhi since then.The attacks on Hindus since Hasina’s ouster—though Dhaka maintains that not all were communally motivated—have further strained relations between the two countries.