Bangladesh interim government's senior adviser on Tuesday said that the state will take responsibility of the family of the Hindu worker who was lynched on blasphemy charges last week.
Education adviser C R Abrar met the bereaved family of 25-year-old Dipu Das, who was killed by a mob and his body set on fire on December 18 in Mymensingh.
"The state has taken the responsibilities of taking care of Dipu Das' child, wife and parents," Abrar said, calling the killing of the garment factory worker a "brutal crime which has no excuse".
Abrar said ahead of meeting the family, he held talks with Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, who asked him to convey to them the government's "profound sorrow and deepest condolences".
According to newspaper reports, Das' father Rabi Chandra Das demanded justice for his son's killing, describing the condition of the family to the adviser.
Yunus's office, meanwhile, reconfirmed that financial and welfare assistance would be provided to Das' family, and relevant authorities would remain in close contact with them in the coming period.
Twelve people have been held so far for their alleged involvement in the murder.
Yunus' press wing in a statement on Tuesday said "allegations, rumours or differences of belief can never excuse violence, and no individual has the right to take the law into their own hands".
"The government reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to the rule of law, noting that the authority to investigate alleged offences and ensure justice through due process rests solely with the state," it said.
Das' killing sparked widespread protests by factory workers, students and rights groups in Dhaka and elsewhere in Bangladesh, while India expressed its concerns as well.
The mob attack coincided with the death of a radical right-wing cultural group Inqilab Mancha leader Sharif Osman Hadi at a Singapore hospital six days after he was shot by masked gunmen in Dhaka.
Hadi was a prominent face in the anti-government protests last year that toppled Sheikh Hasina's government.
Following his death, Bangladesh witnessed a fresh wave of unrest, with a mob setting alight the offices of the mass circulation Daily Star and Prothom Alo and two leading cultural groups, Chhayanot and the Udichi Shilpi Goshti, which were founded in the 1960s.
Meanwhile, interim government's another adviser said that Yunus has taken steps to ease strained ties with New Delhi while his administration was working to develop economic relations with India by separating economic interests from "political rhetoric."
"The chief adviser is working to improve diplomatic relations with India, and he himself has also been speaking to various stakeholders on the issue," interim government's finance adviser Salehuddin Ahmed told reporters after a meeting of the Advisers Council Committee on Government Purchase at his office.
Asked if Yunus directly spoke to India, Ahmed said the chief adviser "has not" but he did speak to those associated with the matter.
"Our trade policy is not driven by political considerations. If importing rice from India is cheaper than sourcing it from Vietnam or elsewhere, then it makes economic sense to buy the staple from India," he said.
The adviser, an economist, however, expressed optimism that bilateral relations would not decline further.
Ahmed said Bangladesh on Tuesday approved a proposal to purchase 50,000 tonnes of rice from India, "as a means to seek good relations."
He said importing this rice would benefit Bangladesh, as sourcing rice from Vietnam, a major alternative, instead of India, would cost BDT 10 (USD 0.082) more per kilogram.
Ahmed's comments came as diplomatic analysts said the Dhaka-New Delhi relation was now at its lowest ebb since Bangladesh's 1971 Independence from Pakistan, with repeated summoning of their envoys in both countries and protests in front of Bangladeshi and Indian missions in both capitals and elsewhere in the two countries.
But the adviser said, "The situation has not reached such a bad stage."
"From the outside, it may sound like many things are happening...However, there are some statements that are difficult to shut out," Ahmed said.
Asked if "people or external forces" were making anti-India statements, he said, "We do not want any bitterness between the two nations. If anyone from outside is trying to instigate problems that is not in the interest of either country."
But, he said, these incidents did not represent the "national expression" and were rather "creating complicated situations for Bangladesh."
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