NEW DELHI (AP) — A protest erupted in India’s capital Tuesday in response to the death of a Hindu man who was lynched and burned by an angry mob in neighboring Bangladesh, a new sign of strain in relations between the neighboring countries.
The protest in New Delhi, mainly led by Hindu nationalist organization Vishva Hindu Parishad, highlights the fragility in the relationship between India and Bangladesh, which often is held up as a rare example of stability in South Asia.
Bangladeshi student leader Sharif Osman Hadi died in a hospital in Singapore on Thursday after being shot on Dec. 12 in Dhaka. Police in Bangladesh said they identified suspects and the shooter likely had fled to India.
Hadi’s death triggered widespread violence in Dhaka. The offices of two national daily newspapers were torched and Indian diplomatic missions were targeted. A Hindu man also was burned alive, which sparked the protest Tuesday in India.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered Tuesday near the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi, shouting slogans and accusing Bangladeshi groups of wrongly targeting minorities. They carried placards and banners with slogans including “India will not tolerate torture of Hindus in Bangladesh” and “Our silence should not be mistaken as weakness, we are lions.”
Authorities erected barricades and imposed tight security around the diplomatic enclave that included police and armored vehicles. Security personnel used batons to hold back some protesters who broke through barricades in an appa …