Anti-Hindu Violence Escalates in Bangladesh: Two Men Killed, Woman Gang-Raped

Image: Jihad Watch

The plight of Hindus in Bangladesh has shown no signs of improvement following the overthrow of Sheikh Hasina’s regime. On the contrary, conditions for the minority community have continued to worsen at an alarming pace. As documented in earlier reports, the country has witnessed a series of brutal killings, lynchings, and coordinated attacks on Hindu homes and businesses. In several cases, victims were beaten mercilessly and burned alive, while in others, entire neighborhoods saw Hindu properties deliberately set ablaze. Families have been left shattered—economically ruined, psychologically scarred, and gripped by a constant fear for their survival. Rather than subsiding with the turn of the year, targeted Islamic jihadist violence against Hindus has intensified further, triggering grave concerns about the long-term safety and existence of the Hindu community in the Islamic nation. All of this has unfolded amid a disturbing silence from international human rights organizations and the United Nations, which appear to remain in a state of winter dormancy.

This escalating violence was starkly illustrated on January 5, 2026, with the cold-blooded murder of Rana Pratap Bairagi, a 38-year-old Hindu businessman and journalist, in the Monirampur upazila of Jessore district. Bairagi was a well-known figure in the area—an entrepreneur who owned an ice factory in Kapalia Bazar and the acting editor of the local daily Dainik BD Khabar, published from Narail. According to police accounts and eyewitnesses, the attackers arrived on a motorcycle and called Bairagi out of his business premises late in the afternoon. He was then led into a narrow alley near the Kapalia Clinic and Diagnostic Centre, where he was shot multiple times in the head at point-blank range. Officers from the Monirampur Police Station later confirmed that his throat had also been slit, underscoring the sheer savagery of the assault. While a case has been registered against 10–12 unidentified individuals, no suspects have been publicly named. As has become routine, official statements have sought to downplay any communal angle. Yet the manner of the killing fits into a broader and unmistakable pattern of systematic violence directed specifically at religious minorities.

Only hours after Bairagi’s assassination, another Hindu life was claimed in a similarly targeted attack. In Charsindur Bazaar of Narsingdi district, near Dhaka, 40-year-old Sharat Chakraborty, also known as Mani, was attacked with sharp weapons while attending to customers at his grocery shop. Locals rushed him to a nearby hospital, but he succumbed to his injuries en route. Once again, Bangladeshi police have failed to identify or arrest the perpetrators, citing an ongoing investigation. Residents of the area, however, are unequivocal about the motive. According to them, Chakraborty was targeted for one reason alone: his Hindu identity.

Reacting to the near-simultaneous killings of journalist Rana Pratap Bairagi and shopkeeper Sharat Chakraborty, prominent social activist Bappaditya Basu issued a scathing condemnation. He remarked that “before the blood of one Hindu in Bangladesh has even dried, another Hindu is being killed,” capturing the relentless nature of the violence. Basu further alleged that Muslim thugs had approached Chakraborty just two days prior to his murder, demanding a large sum of money and explicitly telling him that if he wished to continue living in Bangladesh, he would have to pay jizya. According to the allegation, they also threatened him with dire consequences if he sought police help, including a chilling warning that his wife would be abducted. In the aftermath of the killing, Hindu traders and daily wage workers in the area say fear has become pervasive, with many now hesitant to keep their shops open, especially after nightfall.

The violence has not been limited to men. Hindu women, often among the most vulnerable, continue to face extreme brutality. In a particularly horrifying incident, a 40-year-old Hindu widow in the Kaliganj area of Jhenaidah district was gang-raped, tortured, and publicly humiliated on Saturday, January 3—just days before the murders of Bairagi and Chakraborty. The woman had reportedly been harassed for some time by two local Muslims identified as Shahin and Hasan. On the night of the assault, the two men forced their way into her home and raped her repeatedly. When she resisted and cried for help, the attackers escalated their violence. After the initial assault, they dragged her outside, tied her to a nearby tree, and continued to torture her. In a further act of degradation, they cut off her hair, inflicting not only physical pain but also symbolic humiliation.

According to the victim’s statement, the attackers demanded around 50,000 taka (approximately $400 USD) and recorded the entire ordeal on video while tying her to the tree and cutting her hair. The footage was later circulated on social media, amplifying her trauma and subjecting her to public humiliation. Neighbors eventually rescued her and took her to Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital, where a medical examination confirmed clear signs of physical and sexual assault. She subsequently lodged a formal complaint at the Kaliganj Police Station, naming both accused. Police have acknowledged recording her statement and claimed that an investigation is underway, with assurances of legal action.

Taken together, the execution-style killing of a Hindu businessman-journalist, the fatal attack on a grocery shop owner, and the brutal sexual assault and torture of a Hindu widow point to a sharply deteriorating situation for Hindus in Bangladesh. Since mid-December 2025, at least six Hindus have been killed within a span of just 18 days, alongside repeated reports of lynchings, mob violence, and the systematic burning of Hindu homes and properties.

Despite earlier reporting that highlighted these patterns and raised alarm over the trajectory of events, the latest wave of violence demonstrates no reduction in attacks. Instead, it reflects a troubling escalation in both the intensity and the breadth of persecution faced by the Hindu community—one that continues largely unchecked and unaddressed.

(This Article was originally published by Jihad Watch)