Radical Islamist mobs set ablaze 18 Hindu homes, looted property, assaulted women, and abducted a youth in Dahar Mashihati village of Abhaynagar Upazila, Jashore district. The barbaric attack, which unfolded during a sacred religious festival of the Matua community, bears all the hallmarks of an organized pogrom.
The sequence of events began on the evening of May 22, when Tariqul Islam Sardar, a 50-year-old leader of the Krishak Dal (a wing of the opposition BNP), was brutally murdered—shot and stabbed over 30 times—allegedly due to a dispute over the lease of a fish enclosure. Within minutes of his murder, a Muslim mob of more than 150 individuals launched a coordinated attack on the Hindu village.
“This wasn’t a riot—it was premeditated ethnic cleansing,” said a local resident, whose house was reduced to ashes.
बांग्लादेश में फिर फूंके गए हिंदुओं के घर. #Jashore शहर में मतुआ हिंदू समुदाय बना निशाना pic.twitter.com/0w4WiH2wDq
— iMac_too (@iMac_too) May 26, 2025
The Matua Hindu community was in the midst of their annual jajna festival, a spiritual and communal event meant to bring peace and devotion. That peace was shattered by flames, violence, and fear.
https://twitter.com/VHindus71/status/1925907442811933056?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1925907442811933056%7Ctwgr%5E1c07c4a08af53b4667629cdb767403899f47f28e%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.opindia.com%2F2025%2F05%2Fmuslim-mob-arson-attack-hindu-homes-abhaynagar-jessore-bangladesh-details%2F
At around 6:45 PM, soon after the murder of Tariqul Islam, a rampaging mob descended on the Hindu-majority locality. They looted homes, stole jewellery and cash, and beat residents, including women and the elderly. Four shops were vandalized, and two were set on fire. Cooking pots were overturned, and festival tents were torched as villagers watched helplessly.
A 25-year-old youth, Sagar Biswas, was abducted during the violence. Women like Smriti Biswas and Panna Biswas described being physically assaulted and looted of every last belonging—including medicines, identity papers, gold coins, and life savings. “They thrashed me and kicked me to the ground before burning everything,” Smriti said, trembling with rage and grief.
The damage is catastrophic:
- 18 homes turned to cinders
- 31 cows stolen
- 6 vehicles (1 van and 5 motorcycles) destroyed
- Gold jewellery, cash, electronics, and documents looted
- Religious artefacts defiled and smashed
- At least 10 residents severely injured
- Families displaced, sleeping under tarps or fleeing to relatives’ homes
When a journalist from Prothom Alo visited the village the next day, all Hindu homes had been reduced to rubble and soot. Personal belongings lay in charred heaps. Some homes had been doused with accelerants like kerosene or gunpowder to accelerate the arson, according to witnesses.
🔻Jessore, Bangladesh
Hindu colony of Abhaynagar sub-district was burned down at yesterday night.
Even Fire Service officials were restricted from entering by local Islamic extremists. pic.twitter.com/pe3tlQuW4m
— Joy Das 🇧🇩 (@joydas1844417) May 23, 2025
“I begged them not to burn my 80-year-old mother alive,” said retired headmaster Bikash Chandra Biswas. “They threatened to torch her too.”
Shockingly, police and fire service personnel arrived more than four hours later after 11 PM despite repeated emergency calls. Locals claim the route to the village had been deliberately blocked by barricades to prevent timely access to rescue teams.
Even more disturbing is the fact that no First Information Report (FIR) had been filed even three days after the carnage. No arrests have been made either for the murder or for the organized assault on the Hindu community.
Abhaynagar Police Station Officer-in-Charge Abdul Alim confirmed the violence was related to the murder of Tariqul Islam but dismissed any religious or political angle, attributing it to a “business dispute.” His statement was met with outrage by human rights activists. “This is a dangerous denial of religious persecution. What business conflict justifies burning women and children out of their homes?” questioned a local community leader.
This is not an isolated case. Since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5, 2024, Bangladesh has witnessed a spike in anti-Hindu violence:
- 205+ attacks on temples, shops, homes within 3 days of regime change
- Hindu teachers and civil servants forced to resign
- Murtis of Hindu deities systematically vandalised in Mymensingh, Rajshahi, and Dhaka divisions
- ISKCON and Hindu organizations targeted under false charges
- Journalists like Munni Saha arrested
- Extremists openly coercing Hindus to join Jamaat-e-Islami
In Jashore, as in Chittagong and Pabna, Hindu communities are fleeing ancestral lands in fear. Despite public outcry, the interim government under Muhammad Yunus has failed to ensure justice or security for minorities.
The Upazila Nirbahi Officer has provided what victims call “token relief”:
- 16 tin sheets
- 30 kg of rice
- Tk 6,000
- Two blankets per household
For families who’ve lost entire lives’ worth of earnings, land, homes, and spiritual heritage, this is not relief—it is insult. “We are not beggars. We want justice, not tin sheets,” said Manab Biswas.
The local electricity supply has not been restored either. Many Hindus now fear returning home after dark. Community leaders continue to demand arrest of perpetrators, security assurances, and protection of basic rights for religious minorities.
While Bangladesh reels under Islamist radicalism, the international community remains disturbingly silent. Human rights organisations have barely taken note. The ethnic cleansing of Hindus—once 30 per cent of the population, now under 8 per cent—continues unchecked.
