In a heart-wrenching turn of events, the community of Kashiani in Gopalganj was plunged into mourning as the bodies of two Hindu children were discovered under tragic circumstances, casting a spotlight on the ongoing ethnic strife affecting minorities in Bangladesh. The profound sorrow engulfing the area is a reflection of the larger, more harrowing narrative of targeted violence against Hindus in the nation.

On the somber afternoon of Thursday, August 15, the body of four-year-old Apoorva Tikadar was found in a sand field in the village of Saflidanga Gajariapara. Later the same day, in a separate and equally devastating incident, the tiny body of 16-day-old Arnab Biswas was retrieved from a pond in the Tarail village of Fukra Union. Apoorva, the son of Tapas Tikadar, and Arnab, the infant son of Sachin Biswas, both from Kashiani Upazila, had their lives tragically cut short under mysterious and alarming conditions.

The details of Apoorva’s disappearance and death are particularly chilling. He was last seen playing in the yard of his home, under the watchful eye of his mother, Polly Tikadar, who was preoccupied with her daily chores. As the evening approached, Polly realized with a sinking heart that her son was no longer in sight. Around 6:30 PM, after Apoorva had been missing for some time, she reached out to neighbors in a desperate plea for help. The search that ensued ended in despair when Apoorva’s butchered body was discovered late at night in the forest of Baluchar, deeply shocking the community and creating a sensation across the region.

The small village of Saflidanga was shrouded in grief and confusion as locals and law enforcement scoured the area following the disappearance of four-year-old Apoorva Tikadar. The collective effort to locate him led everyone to the vicinity of Baluchar's house, where, in a horrific turn, Apoorva's body was found with its throat brutally cut.

The distress deepened with statements from the deceased's aunt, Labani Mandal, who expressed her bewilderment and sorrow over the senseless violence. "My sister and her husband are very polite," she stated, her voice heavy with grief. "He runs the family by farming. They have two children. They are harmless, there are no enemies. Why did this happen? We can't understand anything." Her plea for justice was palpable as she called for the authorities to take swift and decisive action: "We demand exemplary punishment by arresting the murderers through proper investigation in the administration."

Amid the mournful cries for answers, the anguish of Apoorva’s mother was heartbreakingly evident in her desperate words caught on video. "I want to see the faces who killed him. My soul is in total unrest. My dearest, my deepest sentimental attachment. Give him water first. I don't need water. My 4-year-old child, why did you kill him? You could have killed me, would have given my life with a smile. Give me justice, give me justice first, I am going nowhere without justice,” she wailed, encapsulating the profound grief of a mother who lost her young son in such a brutal manner.

The recovery of these young lives not only underscores the perilous state of Hindu families in Kashiani but also echoes the broader fears of a genocide targeting Hindus across Bangladesh. Each new report of violence adds to the mounting evidence of systemic persecution, prompting urgent calls for increased security measures and international attention to these heinous acts.

The chilling case of four-year-old Apoorva Tikadar, whose life was brutally cut short, has prompted a swift response from local authorities in Kashiani, Gopalganj. Inspector Abdullah Al Mamun of the Ramdia Police Outpost confirmed the gruesome details of the incident and outlined the steps taken by law enforcement following the discovery of the child's body.

"We received information that the child was missing since the evening at around 9:30 PM," Inspector Mamun stated. He, along with other police officers and concerned villagers, initiated a search that led them to a house on the bank of Baluchar. "There, we found the body in a state of slaughter," he revealed, marking a somber discovery that shook the community. By 10:30 PM, the body was recovered and promptly sent to Gopalganj 2.5 bedded general hospital for an autopsy. In a follow-up to their initial response, the body was returned to the grieving family on Friday, August 16, at noon, after the completion of the post-mortem examination.

Adding to the urgency of the investigation, Inspector Zillur Rahman of Kashiani police station shared insights into the ongoing efforts to resolve this horrifying case. "Tapas Tikadar, the father of the deceased, lodged a complaint with Kashiani police station," he explained. The police are treating the case with the utmost seriousness, considering all possibilities, including that the murder might have stemmed from prior enmity. "We are taking this matter seriously," Inspector Rahman emphasized, indicating the commitment of the police to delve deep into the investigation.

"However, the police have already started an investigation," Inspector Rahman assured, signaling that every resource is being mobilized to bring justice to the bereaved family and to ensure such a tragedy does not repeat.

Newborn Stolen in Kashiani, Body Recovered from Pond Water

If the murder of a 4-year-old Hindu boy was not already heartbreaking enough for the Kashiani community in Gopalganj district, another devastating incident occurred that further shook the area. A 16-day-old newborn baby was stolen from his home, and after a distressing 18-hour search, his body was tragically recovered from the pond water next to the house on Thursday morning.

The incident took place last Wednesday afternoon in Tarail village of Kashiani upazila. At 12 o'clock, Madhuri Biswas, wife of Akash Biswas of Tarail village of Ratil Union of Upazila, put her 16-day-old newborn son, Arnab Biswas, to sleep inside their house and momentarily left to take a bath. Upon her return, she was faced with every parent’s worst nightmare—her son was gone. The distress was immediate; her neighbors, upon hearing her cries, rushed to assist, their own panic palpable as they joined the search for baby Arnab.

Despite their collective efforts, the search through the night yielded no results. It was only the following morning that the local community made a heart-wrenching discovery—Arnab's lifeless body was found in the pond water near the house. The shock and sorrow of this discovery added another layer of grief to a community already reeling from recent tragedies.

In the aftermath of this harrowing event, the family immediately reported the disappearance and subsequent tragic finding to the Kashiani Police Station. The police are actively investigating the circumstances surrounding Arnab's death, as the community seeks answers and justice for this incomprehensible act.

Meanwhile, in a related demonstration of communal concern, a human chain of Santal children and teenagers was formed, demanding better protection for schools and playgrounds.

The local community of Kashiani was gripped by despair and urgency as they rallied together in a desperate search for the stolen newborn, Arnab Biswas. The search efforts, driven by both police and local residents, continued relentlessly until the following day. Tragically, on Thursday morning, 18 hours after the initial report, Barun Biswas, Arnab's grandfather, made a heartrending discovery: the body of the child was found in a pond near the family's home.

The events that unfolded in the hours leading up to this discovery added layers of anguish to an already devastating situation. Despite exhaustive efforts, there seemed to be no trace of the child initially. However, the situation took a chilling turn in the evening when Arnab's father, Sachin Biswas, received a call from an unknown number. The caller demanded a ransom of Tk 50,000 for the safe return of his child. In a desperate bid to get his son back, Sachin managed to gather and send Tk 10,000 to the caller. Sadly, even after complying with the ransom demand, there was no return of the child. Faced with this grim reality, Sachin filed a complaint at Kashiani police station that very afternoon, hoping for a swift resolution that never came.

Later on the same Thursday, further despair was cast over the village when local residents found the body of baby Arnab in the same pond in Tarail village of Fukra union of the upazila. Upon discovering the body, the locals immediately informed the police, who then went to the spot and recovered the body. This sequence of events culminated in a grim closure that no family should ever have to experience.

Reflecting the severity of both cases, the local authorities confirmed that the bodies of the two children, including Arnab's, have been sent to Gopalganj 250-bed general hospital morgue for autopsy. This procedure is a critical part of the ongoing investigation, aimed at uncovering the exact causes and circumstances leading to these tragic deaths.

Investigating Officer Police SI Md. Tushar Mridha Surathal took swift action in the aftermath of the discovery of the newborn’s body, ensuring it was sent to Gopalganj Hospital morgue for an autopsy. This crucial step marked the beginning of a formal inquiry into the circumstances leading to the infant's untimely death.

Akash Biswas, the grief-stricken father of the child, propelled the case into the legal realm by filing a murder charge against unknown accused at the Kashiani police station. This move underscored the family's desperate quest for justice and answers. Officer-in-charge of Kashiani police station, Md. Zillur Rahman, confirmed the authenticity of these harrowing events and provided an initial insight into the cause of death, suggesting that the child was likely killed by suffocation. This preliminary finding adds a somber note to the ongoing investigation, hinting at the brutal nature of the crime.

"However, the main mystery of the murder will be understood after receiving the post-mortem report," stated Officer Rahman, indicating that definitive conclusions are yet to be drawn and the full truth of the incident remains shrouded in uncertainty. The community and the family anxiously await these findings, hoping they bring clarity and aid the police in their pursuit of the perpetrators.

Urgent Global Attention Needed on the Plight of Bangladeshi Hindus

As the investigations into the tragic deaths of two young lives in Kashiani continue, there emerges a profound and unsettling narrative about the possible religious motivations behind these heinous acts. The unsettling circumstances surrounding the deaths of a 16-day-old infant and a 4-year-old boy in Kashiani are not just local tragedies but symptoms of a larger, more dire issue facing the Hindu community in Bangladesh.

The cases have prompted an outcry from the local community and now must resonate on a global scale to shed light on what many fear to be an ongoing targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh. The initial findings suggesting suffocation as the cause of the newborn’s death, the subsequent ransom demand, and the brutal nature of the 4-year-old’s murder all point to a calculated aggression that demands thorough investigation and swift justice.

"There are people who want us to believe they weren’t murdered because of their Hindu identity," is a statement that challenges us to look deeper into the social and cultural rifts that may be fueling such violence. It is a call to the global community not to turn a blind eye to the distress signals emanating from a minority community in despair.

In conclusion, as the world watches, it is crucial that international human rights organizations, global leaders, and all advocates for justice lend their voices and influence to ensure these incidents are not dismissed as isolated events. The Hindu community in Bangladesh is looking to the world to acknowledge and respond to their plight.

Let us stand together in solidarity, bringing sustained international focus to these issues with the hope of fostering peace and ensuring safety for all minorities in Bangladesh. We must not allow the echoes of past genocides to resurface unchallenged.

#AllEyesonTheBangladeshiHindus