Mob lynching surges 400% under Dr. Yunus: RRAG blames ‘mob rule’ for Bangladesh’s breakdown

Syllad | The Rising MeghalayaJuly 19, 2025

Mob lynching incidents in Bangladesh have increased by an alarming 400% under the interim leadership of Chief Advisor Dr. Mohammad Yunus, according to a new report released Saturday by the Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG). The report, titled “Bangladesh: One Year After July Revolution, Ochlocracy Rules,” paints a grim picture of deteriorating law and order since the fall of the Sheikh Hasina-led government in August 2024.

“At least 466 people have been affected by mob violence between August 2024 and June 2025, including 185 killed and 281 injured,” said Suhas Chakma, RRAG Director. “In contrast, only 51 mob lynching deaths were reported in all of 2023 under Sheikh Hasina’s government. This marks a nearly 400% increase in mob lynching deaths under Dr. Yunus.”

Among the most shocking cases cited in the report is the lynching of Roksana Begum Ruby (53), her son Russel Mia (35), and daughter Jonaki Akhter (25) on July 3, 2025, in Muradnagar upazila of Comilla. In another high-profile incident, former Chief Election Commissioner KM Nurul Huda was publicly assaulted, humiliated, and garlanded with shoes by a mob in Uttara, Dhaka, on June 22, 2025.

Despite expanded authority granted to the military to control lawlessness, commissioned officers at the rank of captain and above were given special executive magistracy powers in September 2024—mob violence has only intensified.

“The government handed sweeping legal powers to the armed forces, yet law and order have worsened,” Chakma noted.

RRAG accuses the Interim Government under Dr. Yunus of not just tolerating mob violence, but actively enabling it. The administration has barred police from arresting or filing cases against participants in the July–August 2024 uprising, during which 44 policemen were killed.

This policy of impunity has empowered groups like the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, whose members have: forced out judges of the High Court and Supreme Court, burned down political party headquarters, including that of the Jatiya Party in Kakrail on October 31, 2024 and intimidated the media into silence.

The report also notes that BNP cadres have increasingly joined in the violence, targeting Awami League supporters. While BNP leaders have publicly condemned the attacks, they have done little to curb the actions of their own ranks.

“The Yunus-led interim regime has normalised mob justice as a means to cling to power,” Chakma said. “If this policy of impunity continues, the violence will only escalate.”

The RRAG report warns that Bangladesh is slipping from civil governance into ochlocracy—mob rule—where accountability is vanishing, and political control is enforced through intimidation and street violence rather than law. The group calls for urgent international attention and domestic restraint to prevent further democratic erosion.