1. Executive Summary: At least 15 Hindu minorities murdered in the last 45 days
In the last 45 days between 1 December 2025 to 15 January 2026[1], at least 15 minority Hindus were murdered by persons belonging to the majority Muslims in Bangladesh i.e. murder of one Hindu every third day. The minority Hindus murdered are Samir Das and Prolay Chaki on 11 January 2026; Joy Mohapatra on 10 January 2026; Mithun Sarkar and Sarat Mani Chakraborty on 6 January 2026; Rana Pratap Bairagi on 5 January 2026; Khokon Chandra Das on 31 December 2025; Bajendra Biswas on 29 December 2025; Amrit Mondal on 24 December 2025; Dipu Chandra Das on 18 December 2025; Shanto Chandra Das on 12 December 2025; Jogesh Chandra Roy & Suborna Roy on 7 December 2025; and Prantosh Kormokar and Utpol Sarkar on 2 December 2025.
The murdered victims included elderly women like Suborna Roy and youth like 18 year old Shanta Chandra Das. All the cases of murder were premeditated often targeting the assets of the victims such as Samir Das[2] and Shanta Chandra Das[3] whose auto-rickshaws were taken away. A number of murders were committed in a Taliban style by slitting the throats, such as, of Rana Pratap Bairagi,[4] Shanto Chandra Das,[5] Jogesh Chandra Roy and Suborna Roy.[6]
These murders are just tip of the iceberg on other daily acts of violence against Hindu and other minorities across Bangladesh and do not make news in the media.
This extreme vulnerability of the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh faces a new challenge. Unlike the previous governments, whether the Awami League or the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), the Interim Government led by Chief Advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus has been dismissing any religious angles to these attacks, often before inquiry into the murders. Dr Yunus has been building such as narrative to dismiss attacks on Hindu minorities as disinformation campaigns by India. Chief Advisor Dr Yunus Muhammad went a step further – on 13 January 2026, he approached the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr Volker Turk for technical assistance to address disinformation campaigns during elections.[7] The attacks on the Hindu minorities during the election campaign will be dismissed as disinformation campaigns in otherwise friendly elections between erstwhile alliance partners, the BNP and the Jamaat-I-Islami.
That the murder of 15 Hindu minorities in the last 45 days is unprecedented and exposes extreme vulnerability of the Hindu minorities cannot be denied.
In fact, the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) is of the opinion that once election campaigning begins on 22 January 2026; the minorities especially the Hindus will face unprecedented violence because of their religious belief. These acts of violence against the Hindu minorities will be dismissed as “political violence” as Dr Yunus had dismissed massive attacks on Hindu minorities in August 2024 as attacks on the Awami League.[8]
On 11 January 2026, Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) in Bangladesh, Ivars Ijabs[9] on the issue of “inclusive” and “participatory” election had stated that “inclusiveness means the involvement of all social groups. In the context of Bangladesh, this includes women, all small ethnic communities, religious minority groups and regional groups. By participatory, we mean the credible participation of voters.”[10]
In the current atmosphere of systematic attacks, the Hindu minorities are unlikely to be able to participate in the election unless the Interim Government recognises the attacks on the Hindu minorities because of their religious belief and take necessary measures to ensure their inclusive participation.
The stakeholders sending election observers including the European Union should intervene with the Interim government of Bangladesh to ensure the inclusive participation of Hindu and other minorities, and further monitor acts of violence against indigenous peoples / ethnic communities and religious minority groups during the election process.
2. Cases of murder of Hindu minorities from 1 December 2025 to 15 January 2026
In the last 45 days from 1 December 2025, at least 15 minority Hindus were murdered by persons belonging to the majority Muslims in Bangladesh i.e. murder of one Hindu every third day. The victims included freedom fighters like Jogesh Chandra Roy to ordinary minority Hindus. They were often targeted because of their religious belief and given the vulnerability that arises from being Hindu minorities and impunity provided by the Interim Government.
These murders are just tip of the iceberg on other daily acts of violence against Hindu and other minorities across Bangladesh which do not make news in the media.
The cases of 15 Hindu minorities murdered are given below:
Case 1: Samir Das, 11 January 2026
In the evening of 11 January 2026, a Hindu minority identified as Samir Das (28 years), an auto driver was beaten and stabbed to death in Daganbhuiyan, Feni, Chittagong region. A group of attackers thrashed and stabbed him before fleeing the scene with his battery-operated auto-rickshaw, his only source of income.[11]
Case 2: Prolay Chaki, 11 January 2026
On 11 January 2026, a Hindu minority Prolay Chaki died in prison. He was a musician and cultural affairs secretary of the Awami League’s Pabna district unit.[12] He was arrested from his residence in Pabna on 16 December 2025 in connection with a case linked to an alleged explosion during the 2024 anti-discrimination student movement that led to the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.[13]
Case 3: Joy Mohapatra, 10 January 2026
On 10 January 2026, Joy Mohapatra (25), a Hindu minority was allegedly beaten up, subsequently forced to consume poison and later succumbed at MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital in Sylhet district. According to the family, Joy Mohapatra had left home after being called out by an acquaintance. He was then assaulted, and his mobile phone was snatched. It was alleged that Amirul Islam had called Joy Mohapatra and forced him to consume poison.[14]
Case 4: Mithun Sarkar, 6 January 2026
On 6 January 2026, a Hindu minority, Mithun Sarkar (25), died after jumping into a canal while trying to escape a mob of the Muslim majority that accused him of theft. As the mob chased him, he jumped into a pond and died.[15]
Case 5: Sarat Mani Chakraborty, 6 January 2026
On 6 January 2026, a Hindu minority grocery shop owner, Sarat Mani Chakraborty, was stabbed to death. According to Abdullah Al Faruque, Police Superintendent of Narsingdi, “Mani Chakraborty, a resident of Palash upazila in Narsingdi district, was on his way home from his business after 9 pm on 6 January 2026 night when assailants stabbed him right in front of his house“.[16]
He is survived by his wife, Antara Mukherjee, and his 12-year-old son, Abhik Chakraborty. The deceased had reportedly been employed in South Korea before returning to Bangladesh a few years ago. In a Facebook post on December 19, he wrote in Bangla: “So much fire, so much violence in the valley of death…my homeland”. [17]
Case 6: Rana Pratap Bairagi (38), 5 January 2026
On 5 January 2026, a Hindu minority, Rana Pratap Bairagi (38), son of Tushar Kanti Bairagi of Arua village in Keshabpur upazila, Jashore was shot in the head and thereafter, his throat slit by unidentified men. He was an editor of ‘Dainik BD Khobor’ published from Narail and an ice factory owner. He was lured out and killed in public in Monirampur upazila of Jashore.[18]
Case 7: Khokon Chandra Das (50), 31 December 2025
Khokon Chandra Das, son of Paresh Chandra Das from Tilai village in Damudya Upazila, Shariatpur District ran a pharmacy and mobile banking business in the Keurbhanga market. On 31 December 2025, while returning home from the market, he was hacked and set on fire with petrol in the Tilai area of Koneshwar Union. On 3 January 2026, he passed away while undergoing treatment at the National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery in Dhaka.
The police arrested three accused – Sohag Khan, Rabbi Mollya, and Palash Sarder and produced them before the Shariatpur Chief Judicial Magistrate Court. The accused reportedly confessed their involvement in the hacking and setting ablaze businessman Khokon Chandra Das. They confessed that the incident took place during an attempted mugging.
Officer in Charge Rabiul Haque stated that the three accused had pre-planned to kill the businessman by pouring petrol on him, for which they had carried petrol in a bottle. As people arrived at the scene hearing Khokon’s screams, the accused fled.[19]
Case 8: Bajendra Biswas, 29 December 2025
On 29 December 2025, a garment worker Noman Mia shot dead his Hindu minority colleague Bajendra Biswas (40) without any provocation. Both used to work at Sultana Sweaters Limited under Meherbari Upazila, Bhaluka, Mymensingh. Without provocation, Noman Mia who was sitting near Bajendra Biswas said, “I’ll shoot you”, and then he opened fire. The accused Noman Mia was arrested.[20]
Case 9: Amrit Mondal, 24 December 2025
On 24 December 2025, a Hindu minority, Amrit Mondol, also known as Samrat (29), was beaten to death at the Hosen Danga Old Market area under Pangsha Upazila of Rajbari over allegations of extortion. While the police claimed it was related to extortion, the family members cited communal targeting.[21]
Case 10: Dipu Chandra Das (25), 18 December 2025
On 18 December 2025, a Hindu minority, Dipu Chandra Das was brutally lynched by a mob and set on fire over unproven allegations of blasphemy at Mymensingh’s Bhaluka upazila. He was an employee of Pioneer Knitwears. Eyewitnesses stated the attackers took Dipu out of the factory and locals also joined them, killing him on the spot. They also set the body on fire, leaving it partially burnt.[22]
The police have arrested 21 people including prime accused Imam Yasin Arafat, who worked as an imam at a mosque in the Sheikhbari area, in connection with the murder of Dipu Chandra Das and nine of them have given confessional statements before a court.[23]
Case 11: Shanto Chandra Das (18), 12 December 2025
On 12 December 2025, a Hindu minority, Shanta Chandra Das (18), son of Arun Chandra Das from Bijoynagar village in Homna Upazila, Cumilla was murdered with his throat slit in a cornfield. The victim’s elder brother Anta Chandra Das stated that his brother, Shanta Chandra Das went out with the auto rickshaw and his phone was found unreachable at 8 pm. They looked for him but could not find him. The next day they went to the police station and identified the dead body. The auto rickshaw was taken away by the murderers.[24]
Case 12: Jogesh Chandra Roy & Suborna Roy, 7 December 2025
On 7 December 2026, an elderly Hindu minority 1971 war veteran, Jogesh Chandra Roy (75) and his wife Suborna Roy (60) were found murdered with their throats slit in their home at Taraganj, Rangpur district. At around 7:30 am on 7 December, neighbours climbed into the house using a ladder after receiving no response despite repeated calls. After collecting the key to the main door and unlocking it, they discovered the body of Jogesh Chandra Roy covered with blood, in the dining room and that of Subarna Roy in the kitchen. Sub-Inspector Abu Chaiyum of Taraganj police station stated that preliminary findings suggested the couple were killed by hitting on their heads.[25] The Police arrested prime accused, Morsalin, a mason’s assistant on 12 December 2025.[26]
Case 13: Prantosh Kormokar (42), 2 December 2025
On 2 December 2025, a Hindu minority, Prantosh Karmakar (42), son of Sadhan Sarkar of Dighaliakandi village under Banshgari Union in Raipura Upazila owned a jewellery shop at the local market. He was called out from his home and shot in the chest at a school playground around 8:00 pm on 2 December 2025. After hearing the gun shots, family members rushed out and quickly rescued him. He was taken to Raipura Upazila Health Complex. The hospital doctor advised him to be taken to Narsingdi. Later, he was declared dead at Narsingdi Sadar Hospital.[27]
Case 14: Utpol Sarkar, 2 December 2025
On 2 December 2025, Utpal Sarkar, 35, of Ronkoil village under Kanaipur Union in Faridpur Sadar was hacked to death in an open field while travelling to a market. Like on every other day, Sarkar was on his way to Muksudpur in Gopalganj to purchase fish and travelling in a battery-powered van. Near the Kalitala bridge area in Gaurdia of Atghar Union around 4:45 am, three to four unidentified robbers intercepted them, blindfolded the van driver, Firoz, with a gamchha (towel) at knifepoint and tied him to the railing of the bridge. They then looted the money Utpal was carrying and hacked him indiscriminately, killing him before fleeing the scene.[28]
ENDNOTES
[1]. This report is jointly prepared with Asian Centre for Human Rights
[2]. Hindus Unsafe In Bangladesh, Need Separate Voting Booths: Minority Bodies To Poll Panel, Pallavi Ghosh, 13 January 2026, https://www.news18.com/world/bangladesh-hindu-body-tells-ec-minorities-are-unsafe-to-vote-seeks-special-security-separate-booths-9826809.html
[3]. Autorickshaw driver slaughtered to death, Dainik Janakanta, 12 December 2025, https://www.dailyjanakantha.com/bangladesh/news/885482
[4]. Ice factory owner shot dead in Jashore, Prothom Alo,5 January 2026 https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/crime-and-law/q456p19dtt
[5]. Autorickshaw driver slaughtered to death, Dainik Janakanta, 12 December 2025, https://www.dailyjanakantha.com/bangladesh/news/885482
[6]. Freedom fighter, wife found dead at their Rangpur home, Prothom Alo, 7 December 2025, https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/local-news/2tdarlbbot
[7]. UN rights chief offers support to combat election misinformation, BSS News, 13 January 2026, https://www.bssnews.net/national-parlament-election-2026/350892
[8]. Attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh not communal, issue ‘exaggerated’: Muhammad Yunus, The Hindu, 5 September 2024, https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/attacks-on-hindus-in-bangladesh-not-communal-issue-exaggerated-muhammad-yunus/article68608994.ece
[9]. European Union Launches Election Observation Mission to Bangladesh, European Union, 11.01.2026 https://www.eeas.europa.eu/eom-bangladesh-2026/european-union-launches-election-observation-mission-bangladesh_en
[10]. EU chief election observer’s explanations of an inclusive and participatory election, Prothom Alo, 11 January 2026, https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/sn2fqb2tii#:~:text=During%20the%20question,participation%20of%20voters.%E2%80%9D
[11].Hindus Unsafe In Bangladesh, Need Separate Voting Booths: Minority Bodies To Poll Panel, Pallavi Ghosh, 13 January 2026, https://www.news18.com/world/bangladesh-hindu-body-tells-ec-minorities-are-unsafe-to-vote-seeks-special-security-separate-booths-9826809.html
[12].Hindus Unsafe In Bangladesh, Need Separate Voting Booths: Minority Bodies To Poll Panel, Pallavi Ghosh, 13 January 2026, https://www.news18.com/world/bangladesh-hindu-body-tells-ec-minorities-are-unsafe-to-vote-seeks-special-security-separate-booths-9826809.html
[13]. Hindu Leader Of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League Dies In Bangladesh Police Custody, Family Says He Was Not Given Proper Medical Care, Swarajya, 13 January 2026, https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/hindu-leader-of-sheikh-hasinas-awami-league-dies-in-bangladesh-police-custody-sparking-family-allegations
[14]. Hindu persecution shows no signs of stopping in Bangladesh, youth dies in Sunamganj, family alleges poisoning, Aajkaal, 10 January 2026, https://www.aajkaal.in/international/another-hindu-youth-tragically-died-in-bangaldesh-184609
[15].Chased Over Theft Suspicion, Bangladeshi Hindu Man Jumps Into Canal, Dies, NDTV, 6 January 2026, https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/chased-over-theft-suspicion-bangladeshi-hindu-man-jumps-into-canal-dies-10420480
[16]. Another Hindu man killed in Bangladesh, second such incident in 24 hours, The Hindustan Times, 6 January 2026, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/another-hindu-man-sarat-chakraborty-mani-killed-in-bangladesh-second-such-incident-within-24-hours-101767669369592.html
[17]. Another Hindu man killed in Bangladesh, second such incident in 24 hours, The Hindustan Times, 6 January 2026, https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/another-hindu-man-sarat-chakraborty-mani-killed-in-bangladesh-second-such-incident-within-24-hours-101767669369592.html
[18]. Ice factory owner shot dead in Jashore, Prothom Alo,5 January 2026 https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/crime-and-law/q456p19dtt
[19]. Businessman hacked to death, burnt in Shariatpur while attempting to rob, Prothom Alo, 6 January 2026, https://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/district/0o07snvqak
[20]. Will shoot you and shot, RTV News, 30 December 2025, https://rtvonline.com/country/362304
[21]. Chief of Samrat Bahini beaten to death during ‘extortion’ at Rajbari, Prothom Alo,
25 December 2025, https://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/district/ce0hd5ujqf
[22]. Mob kills man over ‘hurting religious sentiments’, 19 December 2025, The Daily Star, https://www.thedailystar.net/news/bangladesh/crime-justice/news/mob-kills-man-over-hurting-religious-sentiments-4062241
[23]. Bangladesh Police arrest prime accused in lynching of Hindu garment worker Dipu Chandra Das, DD News, 9 January 2026, https://www.newsonair.gov.in/bangladesh-police-arrest-prime-accused-in-lynching-of-hindu-garment-worker-dipu-chandra-das/#:~:text=In%20Bangladesh%2C%20the%20police%20have,killing%20that%20sparked%20international%20outrage.
[24]. Autorickshaw driver slaughtered to death, Dainik Janakanta, 12 December 2025, https://www.dailyjanakantha.com/bangladesh/news/885482
[25]. Freedom fighter, wife found dead at their Rangpur home, Prothom Alo, 7 December 2025, https://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/local-news/2tdarlbbot
[26]. 1 arrested over murder of freedom fighter, wife in Rangpur, Views Bangladesh, 12 December 2025, https://viewsbangladesh.com/1-arrested-over-murder-of-freedom-fighter-wife-in-rangpur/
[27]. Jewelry merchant shot dead in Raipura’s Char area, Prothom Alo, 25 December 2025, https://www.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/district/z1w2y7yjk8
[28]. Trader killed in Faridpur, blindfolded van driver rescued, Prothom Alo, 05 Dec 2025, Shttps://en.prothomalo.com/bangladesh/crime-and-law/4fslvj9k41
