Tensions flared in Thakurgaon district of Rangpur Division as a violent mob led by local gangster Shahidul Islam launched a brutal assault on Hindu temples and homes. The attack, which took place on Saturday (June 28), involved the desecration of sacred idols, arson, and direct threats to expel the Hindu minority from the region.
According to local sources, the violence was rooted in a land dispute between Shahidul Islam and a Hindu resident, Bijoy Chandra Roy, whose home was marked with a red flagpole by the attackers as a sign of takeover. Several eyewitnesses reported that the gang stormed the area armed with weapons like dao (machetes), destroyed idols of Goddess Manasa, and set fire to properties belonging to Hindu families.
A disturbing video, shared by the Hindu rights group Bangladesh, Rangpur Division, surfaced on Facebook on June 29. In the video, Hindu women can be heard crying and narrating the horror:
“They came with weapons… They destroyed the idols… They threatened to burn down our homes and said we won’t be allowed to live here anymore.”
The attack appeared to be a calculated move to force the Hindu population to flee, residents said. Women recounted that the mob threatened to return and cause more destruction to seize their land.
Pattern of Persecution
This is not an isolated incident. Just weeks earlier, on June 17, Hindus in Naogaon district staged protests after a radical group led by a man named Maqsad attempted to encroach temple land and attacked Atul Chandra Sarkar, President of the temple committee. Two prominent temples, Sanyas Mandir and Radha Govinda Mandir, were at the center of the land dispute.
Protesters accused Maqsad’s group of declaring the temple land as their own and threatening violence if prayers continued. On June 16, Atul Chandra Sarkar was attacked in broad daylight while heading to the market.
He sustained serious injuries and was chased into a shop where the mob looted ₹2 lakh Taka in cash.
Protesters carried placards reading: “We want safety for our temples,” “We want peace,” and “We want punishment for land grabbers.”
BNP Leader Arrested for Raping Hindu Woman
In a separate horrifying incident, Fazor Ali, a local Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader, has been arrested for raping a 21-year-old Hindu woman at knifepoint in Ramchandrapur Panchkitta village, Cumilla district, on June 26.
The woman, a mother of two whose husband works in Dubai, had been staying at her paternal home. Fazor Ali had reportedly been stalking her. Seizing the opportunity when her family was away at a local fair, he forcibly entered the house and raped her.
Her screams alerted nearby residents, who managed to detain the assailant briefly. However, Fazor Ali escaped. The victim was taken to Cumilla Medical College Hospital, and a complaint was filed the next day.
A graphic video of the incident leaked online, further traumatising the victim. Police quickly arrested four individuals for spreading the video, and on June 29, Fazor Ali and the other four were formally taken into custody under the Women and Children Repression Prevention Act of 2000.
Continued Violence Under Interim Government Raises Alarms
These back-to-back incidents raise serious questions about the protection of minority rights under the interim government headed by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus. The state’s machinery has failed to protect its minority citizens, particularly Hindus, from politically backed extremists and criminal gangs.
Unless swift and decisive action is taken, Bangladesh risks sliding further into communal violence, eroding the social fabric that once allowed diverse communities to coexist.
