Murder, rape and arson… Why Hindus fear for their lives in Bangladesh

It seems Bangladesh is turning into a ‘no country for Hindus’. As the country gears up for an election — the first after the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024 — the attacks on Hindus in the country are also rising significantly; there’s been six killings in 18 days, as well as reports of rape and arson.

In the last 24 hours itself, two Hindu men have been killed in the south Asian country — 38-year-old factory owner and a newspaper’s acting editor Rana Pratap Bairagi was shot dead in Bangladesh’s Jessore, and 40-year-old Sarat Mani Chakraborty, a grocery owner, was killed after being attacked with sharp weapons in Narsingdi.

Here’s a closer look at how Hindus have been targeted in Bangladesh in recent times, raising questions about their safety.

Rana Pratap and Sarat Mani: Two killings in 24 hours

On Monday (January 5), two Hindu men were killed in different parts of Bangladesh in a matter of a few hours.

Around 5.45 pm at Kopaliya Bazaar in Bangladesh, unidentified men shot dead Rana Pratap Bairagi, a factory owner and a newspaper’s acting editor. A resident of Arua village, Bairagi was the son of Tushar Kanti Bairagi in neighbouring Keshabpur district.

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He owned an ice-making factory in Kopaliya Bazaar in Monirampur and was the acting editor of a newspaper called Dainik BD Khabar. The newspaper was published in Narail. According to the police, there were four cases registered against Bairagi in two police stations.

Speaking on the killing, Monirampur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Rajiullah Khan told Bangladesh daily Prothom Alo, “Bairagi was shot three times in the head, and his throat was slit. The reason for the murder or the identities of the murderers are not yet known.

Hours after the death of this Hindu man, around 10 pm, another Hindu man, 40-year-old Sarat Mani Chakraborty was attacked with sharp weapons in Narsingdi district. A news report states that Chakraborty was at his grocery shop in the Charsindur Bazaar in the Palash Upazila area of Narsingdi when unidentified assailants suddenly attacked him with sharp weapons and critically injured him. Local residents rushed him to a hospital, but Chakraborty succumbed to his injuries on the way. He is survived by his wife, Antara Mukherjee, and his 12-year-old son, Abhik Chakraborty.

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The horrific gang-rape of a Hindu widow

Before the news of the two Hindu men being killed in Bangladesh, came the shocker of a Hindu widow being gang-raped and then tied to a tree.

On Saturday (January 3), a 40-year-old woman was allegedly gang raped in Kaliganj, a sub-district of Jhenaidah. The survivor’s police complaint states that two men tied her to a tree, forcibly cut off her hair, sexually assaulted her, and recorded the attack on video. The footage was later circulated on social media, worsening the assault on her.

In her statement to the authorities, the woman alleged that the incident occurred owing to a dispute of the two-storeyed house she had purchase in the Kaliganj municipality. She stated that she had purchased the house from Shahin, who began to harass her and make indecent proposals.

On Saturday evening, when two relatives from her village were visiting, Shahin and his associate Hasan allegedly forced their way into the house and raped her. The men then demanded 50,000 taka from the woman. When she refused, they reportedly assaulted her relatives and drove them out of the house.

Previous killings of Hindus in Bangladesh

In the last days of December and early days of January, there’s been a spate of attacks against Hindu men. For instance, on January 3, a Hindu man died after being brutally attacked, hacked and set on fire.

Khokon Chandra Das, 50, was assaulted near Keurbhanga Bazar in Damudya in Shariatpur district, about 100 kilometres south of Dhaka, on December 31 night while returning home after closing his shop. Das, who ran a medicine shop and mobile banking business, was travelling in an autorickshaw when the attackers intercepted the vehicle and allegedly beat him up, hacked him with sharp weapons and then poured petrol on his head before setting him on fire.

In an attempt to save himself, Das jumped into a roadside pond as locals raised an alarm. The attackers fled the scene, police said, adding that he was rescued by locals, taken to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital, and then referred to Dhaka due to the severity of his injuries.

Prior to this, Bajendra Biswas an employee at Sultana Sweaters Ltd factory in Mehrabari, Mymensingh, was fatally shot by his 22-year-old colleague in late December. According to reports, before firing with a shotgun at Biswas’ thigh, Mia reportedly said, “Shall I shoot?”. After shooting, Mia fled immediately. The bullet caused severe injuries in the victim’s thigh and led to heavy bleeding. Though Biswas was rushed to the Bhaluka Sub-district Health Complex, he was declared dead on arrival.

A day after Christmas, on December 26, also came the news of Hindu man, Amrit Mondal, being beaten to death by a mob in Bangladesh’s Rajbari district. The Muhammad Yunus-led administration had noted that Mondal’s death had no communal angle, but arose from a violent situation stemming from extortion and criminal activities.

The lynching of Dipu Chandran Das

However, the recent spate of violence against the minority in Bangladesh began with the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh city on December 18 when the country erupted in anger over the death of activist, Sharif Osman Hadi.

Working as a factory worker, he was lynched by a mob on allegations of blasphemy. According to eyewitnesses, allegations spread rapidly within the factory, triggering tension. An angry mob later assaulted Das, beating him severely. He reportedly died on the spot due to the attack.

A police official later that after the killing, the mob left Das’ body on the side of the Dhaka-Mymensingh highway and set it on fire, bringing traffic on both sides of the road to a standstill.

Das’ father, Ravilal Das, grieving his loss told NDTV the mob poured kerosene on his son and set him on fire. “His burned body was left outside. They tied the burned torso and head outside together. It was horrible,” he said.

The spate of attacks on the minority community has heightened tensions between India and Bangladesh.

It’s to be seen if the violence continues against the Hindus or will the February 12 elections in Bangladesh change the situation.

With inputs from agencies