A Hindu man was crushed to death in Bangladesh after he tried to stop a vehicle from leaving a petrol pump without paying for fuel, police said.

The incident, which took place on Friday (January 16, 2026) in Rajbari district, marks the latest in a spate of violence targeting Hindus in Bangladesh.

The victim, identified as 30-year-old Ripon Saha, was a fuel station worker, The Daily Star newspaper reported on Saturday, quoting police officials.

He was working at Karim Filling Station in Goalanda Mor at the time of the incident, it said.

“We will file a murder case. The worker stood in front of the car after they refused to pay for fuel, and they ran him over before fleeing.” Rajbari Sadar Police chief Khondakar Ziaur Rahman was quoted as saying by news portal bdnews24.com.

According to police and eyewitnesses, a black SUV arrived at the filling station around 4:30 am on Friday and took fuel worth about Tk 5,000 (approx ₹3,710). When the driver attempted to leave without paying, Saha tried to block the vehicle. The car allegedly ran him over and sped away, killing him on the spot.

Police later seized the vehicle and arrested its owner Abul Hashem alias Sujan, 55, and his driver Kamal Hossain, 43.

Hashem, a former treasurer of Rajbari district Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and former president of the district Jubo Dal, is a contractor by profession, police said.

According to the 2022 census, the Hindu population in Bangladesh is approximately 13.13 million, which accounts for about 7.95% of the country’s total population.

Earlier this month, the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) in a statement alleged that as the date of the general elections draws nearer, communal violence is increasing at an alarming rate in the country. Parliamentary polls are scheduled on February 12.

The forum alleged that the violence is aimed at preventing minority voters from casting votes for candidates of their choice.

The Council said it has recorded 51 incidents of communal violence in December 2025 alone.

A 42-year-old jeweller, identified as Prantosh Sarkar, was shot dead by miscreants at a school field in Narshingdi on December 2.

A 25-year-old garment factory worker, identified as Dipu Chandra Das, was lynched to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy in Mymensingh city on December 18. His body was then set on fire.

Another Hindu man, identified as Amrit Mondal, was lynched over alleged extortion in Rajbari town’s Pangsha upazila on December 24.

Khokon Chandra Das, 50, was brutally attacked, hacked and set on fire by miscreants while returning home after closing his shop on the night of December 31. He died in a hospital three days later on January 3.

A 40-year-old grocery shop owner, identified as Moni Chakraborty, was murdered by unidentified attackers who struck him with a sharp weapon on the night of January 5 at Charsindhur Bazar in Palash Upazila.

Rana Pratap Bairagi, a 38-year-old ice-making factory owner, who was also the acting editor of a newspaper called ‘Dainik BD Khabar‘ published from Narail, was fatally shot in the head by unidentified assailants on January 5 in Jessore district.

A 25-year-old man, identified as Mithun Sarkar, on Jan 6 died after he jumped into a canal to escape a mob which accused him of theft in Naogaon district.

Liberation War veteran and retired primary school headmaster, Jogesh Chandra Roy (70) and his wife Shubarna Roy were killed at the Taraganj area of Rangpur on December 7. Their blood-stained bodies were found on the kitchen floor of their house.

Published – January 17, 2026 03:13 pm IST

Hindu activists during a protest against the alleged atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh, in Karnataka.
| Photo Credit: PTI

Several Indian-Americans plan to hold peaceful rallies in the U.S. capital and Chicago over the next two days to protest the attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh, organisers have said.

The march protesting the ‘Genocide of Hindus in Bangladesh’ is being organised by HinduAction near the White House on Monday, December 9, while the ‘Stop the Genocide: Save Hindu Lives in Bangladesh’ is being organised by eminent community leaders in Chicago on Sunday, December 8.

Also read | Centre at Dhaka set on fire, claims ISKCON

“The situation in Bangladesh is not just a regional crisis; it is a humanitarian catastrophe with global implications. Genocide is a crime against humanity. It is the responsibility of the international community to intervene, protect, and prevent further atrocities,” said www.stophindugenocide.org created by Indian-Americans to document the crime against Hindus in Bangladesh over the past several months.

In recent days, the brutality against Hindus has escalated to shocking levels, it said.

Utsav Chakrabarti, executive director of HinduACTion, called on the outgoing Biden-Harris administration to take all possible measures to prevent further escalation of violence by radical Islamists against Hindus in Bangladesh.

The minority Hindu community in Muslim-majority Bangladesh has reportedly faced more than 200 attacks in 50-odd districts following the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government on August 5.