‘We burnt him alive’: Bangladesh student leader boasts of lynching Hindu cop

Video revives outrage over police lynching (X: SahidulKhokonbd)

A video circulating widely on social media has sparked outrage after a Bangladeshi youth leader was seen boasting about the killing of a Hindu police officer and issuing open threats against law enforcement officials during what he described as the July 2024 uprising.

The video was shared on X by investigative journalist and author Sahidul Hasan Khokon, who identified the speaker as a student coordinator from Habiganj district in northeastern Bangladesh.

In the footage, the youth is heard threatening the officer-in-charge of a police station, warning that the facility would be burned down. He also claims that during what he calls the “July movement”, the Baniachong police station had already been set on fire.

The speaker then makes a disturbing assertion, saying, “We burned Hindu officer SI Santosh,” referring to Sub-Inspector Santosh Bhabhu. He appears to make the statement without fear or remorse, despite being seated inside a police station at the time of the recording.

The boy is a student coordinator from Habiganj district.He is openly threatening the Officer-in-Charge of a police station, saying he will burn the station down.He even boasts that during the July movement they had already set the Baniachong police station on fire.He goes even… pic.twitter.com/CNzirf99Vg

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— Sahidul Hasan Khokon (@SahidulKhokonbd) January 2, 2026

Khokon, in his post accompanying the video, said the individual is a student coordinator from Habiganj district and accused him of openly threatening the officer-in-charge of a police station. He added that the youth boasted about setting the Baniachong police station on fire during the July movement.

Habiganj district has a predominantly Bengali Muslim population, with Muslims accounting for about 84 percent of residents, while Bengali Hindus make up nearly 16 percent, according to Bangladeshi census data. Smaller communities of Christians and indigenous groups constitute the remainder of the population.

Although Bengali Muslims form the overwhelming majority, the Hindu community has long lived across the district in concentrated pockets, particularly in and around towns such as Baniachong and Habiganj Sadar.

The lynching of officer Santosh

The video has renewed attention on the killing of Sub-Inspector Santosh Bhabhu, an officer attached to the Baniachong police station, who was lynched by a mob on August 5, 2024.

According to reports by Bangladeshi newspaper Desh Rupantar, violence erupted that evening when a mob attacked the Baniachong police station amid escalating political unrest, hours before then prime minister Sheikh Hasina resigned.

The report said Santosh Bhabhu and other police personnel opened fire in what was described as self-defence to disperse the mob. Three people were killed on the spot, while several others were injured, one of whom later died in hospital.

Later that night, at around 1 am, the mob reportedly returned and surrounded the police station. When army personnel arrived, the mob allegedly agreed to allow all other officers to leave in exchange for Santosh Bhabhu remaining behind.

Santosh Bhabhu was lynched at around 2:15 am, according to the report. His body was left on the road until the following day and was later further desecrated by the mob.

(Moneycontrol.com has not independently confirmed the video’s authenticity, the identity of the individual shown, or the accuracy of the statements made in the clip.)