Incidents of mob violence are on the rise in Bangladesh with at least 49 people lynched in the past two months, according to the monthly report of human rights organistation Ain o Salish Kendra.
The report, which is yet to be published, said that 28 people were lynched in September and 21 others were lynched in August this year. In the same two months in the past year, 10 people were lynched across the country.
The incidents of mob violence and lynching have increased since the formation of the interim government led by the Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus after the August 5 fall of the Sheikh Hasina regime amid a student-people uprising.
Of those lynched in September this year, 12 were reported in Dhaka division, five each in Rajshahi and Chattogram divisions, three in Khulna division, and one each was reported in Rangpur, Mymensingh and Barishal divisions, the report said.
It said that 81 people were lynched between January and September this year.
The report, based on reports published by different media outlets and verified by rights activists, also highlighted a sharp rise in political violence, with at least 52 incidents in September alone.
In September, 16 people were killed and 856 were injured in political violence across the country.
Of the 52 incidents of political violence, 21 were internal conflicts in the Bangladesh Nationalist Party, 13 were clashes between the BNP and the Awami League and three were internal conflicts in the AL.
鈥楾he rise in the number of lynching incidents has raised serious concerns, shaking the people鈥檚 sense of security. People need to understand that lynching is an offence and that it is against human rights,鈥� said ASK senior coordinator Abu Ahmed Faijul Kabir.
He urged the interim government to immediately look into the matters and bring the perpetrators to book.
The report also revealed that at least 28 women and girls were raped in September, and four people became victims of extrajudicial killings.
A total of 73 incidents of harassment of journalists were reported in September, the report said.