The majority of incidents involving members of minority communities in Bangladesh during 2025 were “criminal in nature” and not driven by communal motives, the interim government said on Monday (January 19, 2026).

The statement issued by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus Press Wing came days after India, on January 9, pressed Dhaka to “swiftly and firmly” deal with attacks on minorities in Bangladesh and described as “troubling” the attempts to attribute the incidents to extraneous reasons.

New Delhi’s reaction had come against the backdrop of the killing of several Hindu individuals in Bangladesh in the last few weeks.

Citing a yearlong review of official police records, the interim government said a total of 645 incidents involving minority communities were recorded between January and December 2025 across Bangladesh.

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“While every incident is a matter of concern, the data presents a clear and evidence-based picture: the overwhelming majority of cases were criminal in nature rather than communal,” it said.

According to the statement posted on the Chief Adviser’s verified social media handle, of the 645 incidents, 71 were identified as having communal elements.

These included 38 cases of temple vandalism, eight of arson, one of theft, one murder and 23 other incidents such as threats to break idols, provocative social media posts and damage to worship pavilions.

Police cases were filed in 50 of these incidents, and arrests were made in an equal number, while other preventive or investigative measures were taken in 21 cases, the statement said.

The remaining 574 incidents were linked to criminal or social disputes unrelated to religion, including neighbourhood disputes (51), land-related conflicts (23), theft (106), prior personal enmity (26), rape (58) and 172 cases of unnatural death.

Police registered 390 cases in this category, filed 154 unnatural death reports and made 498 arrests, with additional measures taken in 30 incidents.

The interim government said the report “does not deny challenges, nor does it claim perfection; rather, it seeks to provide a factual, evidence-based picture of crime trends affecting minority communities within the broader national context”.

“While all crimes are serious and demand accountability, the data demonstrates that most incidents involving minority victims were not driven by communal hostility, but by broader criminal and social factors that affect citizens across religious and ethnic lines,” it 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. The Buddhist population is approximately 1.01 million (0.61%), Christians nearly 5,00,000 and other religions, including Sikh and Animist, approximately 2,00,000 (0.12%).

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.

The interim government in the statement reiterated that ensuring safety and justice for all citizens, including Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, Christians and people of other beliefs, remains a constitutional and moral obligation.

On January 9, reacting to the recent spate of violence targeting Hindus in Bangladesh, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We continue to witness a disturbing pattern of recurring attacks on minorities as well as their homes and businesses by extremists.”

Such communal incidents need to be dealt with swiftly and firmly, he said.

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“We have observed a troubling tendency to attribute such incidents to personal rivalries, political differences, or extraneous reasons.

“Such disregard only emboldens the perpetrators and deepens the sense of fear and insecurity among minorities,” Mr. Jaiswal said.

The relations between India and Bangladesh were strained after the interim government headed by Mr. Yunus assumed charge following the collapse of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024.

India has been expressing concerns over attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh.

Published – January 19, 2026 03:37 pm IST

Dhaka:

A day after the second Hindu monk, Shyam Das Prabhu, was arrested in Bangladesh, two other disciples of arrested spiritual leader Chinmoy Krishna Das have also gone missing in Chattogram, International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) Kolkata spokesperson Radharamn Das claimed on Saturday.

Posting the picture of four Hindu priests, Radharamn Das wrote: “Do they look like terrorists? All of them have been arrested by Bangladeshi police without any reason.”

Do they look like terrorists? All of them have been arrested by Bangladeshi police without any reason. #ISKCON #FreeISKCONMonks pic.twitter.com/q60qzDD0Ct

— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) December 1, 2024

He also retweeted a post claiming, “After Chinmoy Krishna Das, two more Hindu saints Ranganath Shyamsunder Das Brahmachari and Rudrapati Keshav Das Brahmachari were arrested from Pundarik Dham by Bangladesh Police.”

While there is no official comment on the arrests or detention of Shyam Das Prabhu and two other ISKCON devotees– who had reportedly gone to deliver food to Chinmoy Krishna Das– sources said that they were detained by authorities without warrant.

Sources said ISKCON Bangladesh stopped some priests heading to India amid reports of at least four Hindu priests being in custody.

Attacks On Minorities In Bangladesh

Meanwhile, reports of attacks on Hindus continue to come from Bangladesh. Earlier today, a journalist, Munni Saha, was taken into custody after she was targeted by radical Islamist forces and surrounded by a mob. Saha was accosted and threatened by a group of radicals in the heart of Dhaka at Karwan Bazar on Saturday evening while leaving her office. She was later released, sources said.

Journalists in the South Asian country have also complained about facing issues with hundreds of accreditations being cancelled amid radical targeting of the minority community in Bangladesh.

The Bangladesh government is also targeting ISKCON, with authorities reportedly ordering that freezing for 30 days the bank accounts of 17 people associated with the organisation, including its former member Chinmoy Krishna Das arrested this week on sedition charges.

Another ISKCON center in Bhairav, Bangladesh, has been vandalized. No respite in sight. #SaveBangladeshiHindus pic.twitter.com/ut7CMRb4mn

— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) November 30, 2024

An ISKCON centre in the Bhairav area of Bangladesh was also vandalized by an angry mob. ISKCON has over 100 centres in Bangladesh, where Hindus comprise approximately 8 per cent of the total 170 million population.

Earlier, three Hindu temples were vandalised by a slogan-shouting mob on Friday in Chattogram, which has witnessed protests and violence since a former ISKCON member Chinmoy Krishna Das was booked.

There are also reports of members of the minority community being attacked by mobs. Sayan Ghosh, a resident of Kolkata, alleges radical elements brutally beat him up during his recent trip to Bangladesh. Mr Ghosh said he was targeted after confirming that he was a Hindu from India. On Saturday night, he returned home through the Gede-Darshan border.

India Concerned

India has conveyed its “serious concern” to Bangladesh over the “increasing incidents of violence” against the minority Hindu community in the neighbouring country. New Delhi has also shared its worry with Dhaka over the “surge in extremist rhetoric”.

The Ministry of External Affairs, in its weekly press briefing, told reporters that India has been in touch with the interim government in Bangladesh on a routine and consistent basis regarding the rising cases of communal incidents targeting the Hindu minority.

There’s also a political consensus and support among parties in India for the Union government to take appropriate action on the matter.

Speaking on the issue, Trinamool Congress National General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee said, “The images surfacing from Bangladesh are infuriating and make blood boil. I have cleared my stand that you have to follow the Constitution of the country and the state has no role in it. The onus is on the Union government to take it up with the Bangladesh government in the strongest manner or in the language they understand.”