Rights body flags rising violence against minorities in Bangladesh

Dhaka, Jan 9 (LatestNewsX) The Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) highlighted escalating attacks on minorities across the country, documenting over a hundred deaths within a seven-month period.

The rights body alleged that violence reflects a nationwide pattern of targeting minorities rather than isolated incidents.

“Between June 6, 2025 –January 5, 2026, 116 minority deaths were documented across all 8 divisions and 45 districts of Bangladesh, spanning lynching, murder, and suspicious deaths. This is not isolated violence. It is a nationwide pattern of targeted atrocities,” HRCBM posted on X.

Earlier on Tuesday, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, a human rights organisation against religious discrimination, expressed grave concern over the escalating attacks on minority communities across Bangladesh.

The human rights body stated that communal violence has been increasing at an alarming rate as the February national election in Bangladesh approaches.

Highlighting the growing atrocities against minorities in Bangladesh last year, the council in a statement said, “In the month of December alone, at least 51 incidents of violence occurred. These include 10 murders, 10 incidents of theft and robbery, 23 cases of occupation, looting and arson involving homes, business establishments, temples and land, 4 cases of detention and torture on false allegations of religious blasphemy and being agents of the RAW, 1 attempted rape, and 3 incidents of physical assault.”

The Council revealed that the trend of violence, especially against Hindu minorities, has continued into the first week of January.

“On 2 January, paddy crops on 96 decimals of land belonging to Satyanarjan Das were set on fire in Ramgati, Lakshmipur. On 3 January, businessman Khokon Chandra Das was brutally murdered in Shariatpur after being hacked and set on fire. Early the same morning, a robbery was carried out at the house of Milon Das in Ward No. 4 of Amuchia Union under Boalkhali Upazila of Chattogram, where all family members were taken hostage,” the rights body detailed.

“On 4 January, a gold trader named Shubho Poddar was tied up, and approximately 30 bhori( around 350 grams) of gold ornaments were looted from his shop. On the same day, a 40-year-old Hindu widowed woman was raped in Kaliganj, Jhenaidah; she was tied to a tree, her head was shaved, and she was subjected to severe torture,” it added.

Condemning the escalation of communal violence, the rights body stated that minority communities across Bangladesh are gripped by fear and uncertainty about the future.

Bangladesh has witnessed escalating violence against minorities, including Hindus, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, sparking outrage among people and several human rights organisations across the globe.

scor/rs