Bangladesh Hindu community members participate in a protest and block the Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka, Bangladesh. File photo
| Photo Credit: Special arrangement
A leading minority rights organisation on Thursday (May 21, 2026) expressed grave concern over an alarming pattern of violence against minorities in Bangladesh, documenting 505 incidents in the first four months of this year.
In its latest report, titled ‘The Persecution Continues: Minority Communities Under Sustained Attack in Bangladesh’, the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) recorded 505 incidents across 62 districts and all 8 divisions of Bangladesh between January and April 2026.
The report mentioned that these incidents included killings and suspicious deaths, physical assaults, kidnappings, sexual violence, attacks on temples and religious institutions, land grabbing, arson, looting, intimidation, and blasphemy-related persecution.
According to HRCBM, these incidents are not isolated or localised events but reflect recurring patterns of violence, intimidation, sexual abuse, land dispossession, religious attacks, mob aggression, and institutional protection failures affecting minority communities across the country.
As per the findings, the major categories of documented violations included 144 cases of kidnapping and physical assault, 132 incidents of property attacks, land grabbing, arson, and looting incidents and 100 cases of murder and suspicious death.
Additionally, it documented 95 temple attacks and incidents of religious violence, 28 cases of sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, and 6 blasphemy-related incidents.
“The documented pattern reveals a continuing failure of protection, accountability, and equal access to justice for vulnerable minority communities. The report highlights recurring concerns involving delayed response, weak investigation, intimidation of victims or families, and lack of visible accountability in many cases,” said the HRCBM, criticising the persistent failure of Bangladeshi authorities to ensure adequate protection for minority communities.
Bangladesh has witnessed escalating violence against minorities, including Hindus, during the eighteen-month tenure of the former Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, sparking outrage among people and human rights organisations across the globe.
The recurring incidents under the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government have further underscored a sharp rise in targeted attacks on minority communities in the country.
Earlier in April, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, a human rights organisation against religious discrimination, voiced serious concern over the continuation of communal violence across the country in the period before and following this year’s national elections, documenting 133 incidents.
In a press release, the organisation, citing media reports, stated that between January 1 and March 31, a total of 133 incidents of communal violence were recorded.
These included 25 killings, 4 incidents of rape and violence against women, 35 incidents of temple attacks and looting, and 69 other incidents, including attacks on indigenous communities.
Published – May 21, 2026 06:23 pm IST
