Dhaka–New Delhi relations came under renewed strain on December 23 after Bangladesh summoned Indian High Commissioner Pranay Verma for the second time in less than ten days, citing what it described as a failure to prevent violent and intimidating protests outside its diplomatic premises in India.

The summoning followed a statement from the Bangladesh foreign ministry, which condemned what it termed the “premeditated violence or intimidation against diplomatic establishments”, referring to demonstrations outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi and the Bangladesh visa application centre in Siliguri.

“Bangladesh also expressed deep concern over violent protests staged outside the premises of the different Diplomatic Missions of Bangladesh in India,” the statement said, stressing that India bore responsibility for the safety and security of foreign missions under international obligations.

Hours earlier, Bangladesh had suspended all visa and consular services in New Delhi and Siliguri, according to notices issued at the two locations.

The decision followed repeated protests and, in Siliguri, a direct intrusion into the visa application centre that forced staff to shut operations.

The protests in India were triggered by the killing of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment factory worker in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district. Das was lynched on the night of December 18 following allegations of blasphemy.

According to police accounts cited in Bangladeshi media, he was first attacked by a mob outside his workplace, later hanged from a tree, and his body left by the Dhaka–Mymensingh Highway before being set on fire.

An initial protest linked to the killing was reported on the night of December 20 outside the residence of the Bangladesh High Commissioner in New Delhi, where Bangladeshi media said around 20 to 25 protesters gathered for about 20 minutes.

India rejected Dhaka’s characterisation of the protests, with Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal saying there had been no attempt to breach the perimeter and that police dispersed the group within minutes. At the same time, India condemned what it described as the “horrendous killing” of Dipu Chandra Das and called on Bangladeshi authorities to bring those responsible to justice.

Bangladesh’s foreign ministry later issued a statement describing the incident as highly regrettable and dismissed India’s characterisation of the protest as minor. Bangladesh’s foreign affairs adviser Md Touhid Hossain subsequently said the High Commissioner Riaz Hamidullah and his family felt threatened during the demonstration.

On December 23, a much larger protest took place outside the Bangladesh High Commission in New Delhi. Hundreds of people affiliated with the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal gathered near the mission, prompting the deployment of police and paramilitary forces and the erection of multiple layers of barricades.

The demonstrators, numbering around 400, were stopped about 500 metres from the high commission on a neighbouring road in the diplomatic zone.

Media reports said some protesters broke through parts of the barricades, leading police to block the approach road with a Delhi Transport Corporation bus while repeatedly warning the crowd against escalation.

Slogans such as “Bharat Mata ki jai (hail Bharat Mata)”, “Yunus sarkar hosh mein aao (wake up, Yunus government)”, and “Hindu hatya band karo (stop the killing of Hindus)” were raised, with placards criticising the Bangladesh government and demanding justice for Dipu Chandra Das. The protesters were later taken into custody.

In Kolkata, a large group waving saffron flags attempted to march towards the Bangladesh Deputy High Commission. The rally, titled ‘Hindu Hunkar Padayatra (Hindu roar foot rally)’, was organised under the banner of ‘Bongiyo Hindu Jagaran’ and began from the Sealdah area. Police stopped the march at Beckbagan and deployed heavy security around the mission. Tensions escalated when some protesters tried to push past barricades, prompting police to intervene and use a mild lathi charge to disperse the crowd.

BJP leader and Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari, who led the protest, later announced plans for a one-hour border blockade on December 24, followed by another demonstration on December 26.

Protests were also reported from Jammu and Kashmir. In Jammu, the High Court Bar Association held a demonstration condemning the lynching and urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ensure the protection of Hindus in Bangladesh.

The Shiv Sena Dogra Front staged a separate protest in the Rani Park area, raising concerns about what it described as the presence of illegal Bangladeshi and Rohingya settlers in the region. In Rajouri, Hindutva organisations under the banners of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal protested at Panja Chowk and burned an effigy of Bangladesh interim government chief adviser Muhammad Yunus.

Tuesday’s summoning was the second such diplomatic move by Dhaka in ten days. On December 14, Bangladesh had summoned the Indian High Commissioner to convey serious concern over India allowing former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to make what it described as incendiary statements from Indian territory, and to seek the return of those accused in the killing of Bangladeshi youth leader Osman Sharif Hadi.

Three days later, India summoned the Bangladesh High Commissioner to express strong concerns over the security situation in Bangladesh, particularly after announcements by certain groups in Dhaka calling for a march to the Indian High Commission.