The BNP’s role is more ambiguous. While the party has communicated to India its desire to maintain cordial bilateral relations, its historical dependence on Jamaat and its reluctance to clearly distance itself from Islamist street power raises serious doubts.

The unsettling similarity between Dipu and Priyantha is not limited to just how they were lynched and by whom, the allegations against them were similar too. Flimsy accusations of ‘blasphemy’, baseless rumours of ‘insult to Islam’ and ‘Insult to the Islamic prophet’.