15 Minority Hindus murdered in 45 days, inclusive participation not feasible in Bangladesh

The Rights & Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) in a report on Thursday (January 15)  stated that “in the last 45 days between 1 December 2025 to 15 January 2026, at least 15 minority Hindus were murdered by persons belonging to the majority Muslims in Bangladesh, which means murder of one Hindu every third day.

The minority Hindus murdered are Samir Das and  Prolay Chaki on 11 January 2026; Joy Mohapatra on 10 January 2026; Mithun Sarkar and Sarat Mani Chakraborty on 6 January 2026; Rana Pratap Bairagi on 5 January 2026;  Khokon Chandra Das on 31 December 2025; Bajendra Biswas on 29 December 2025; Amrit Mondal on 24 December 2025; Dipu Chandra Das on 18 December 2025; Shanto Chandra Das on 12 December 2025; Jogesh Chandra Roy & Suborna Roy on 7 December 2025; and Prantosh Kormokar  and  Utpol Sarkar on 2 December 2025.

“The murdered victims included elderly women like Suborna Roy and youth like 18 year old Shanta Chandra Das. All the cases of murder were premeditated, often targeting the assets of the victims such as Samir Das and Shanta Chandra Das whose auto-rickshaws were taken away. A number of murders were committed in a Taliban style by slitting the throats, such as, of Rana Pratap Bairagi, Shanto Chandra Das, Jogesh Chandra Roy and Suborna Roy. These murders are just tip of the iceberg on other daily acts of violence against Hindu and other minorities across Bangladesh and do not make news in the media", stated Mr Suhas Chakma, Director of the RRAG.

“This extreme vulnerability of the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh faces a new challenge. Unlike the previous governments, whether the Awami League or the Bangladesh National Party (BNP), the Interim Government led by Chief Advisor Dr Muhammad Yunus has been dismissing any religious angles to these attacks, often before inquiry into the murders. Dr Yunus has been building such a narrative to dismiss attacks on Hindu minorities as a disinformation campaign by India. Chief Advisor Dr Yunus Muhammad went a step further - on 13 January 2026, he approached the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr Volker Turk for technical assistance to address disinformation campaigns during elections. The attacks on the Hindu minorities during the election campaign will be dismissed as “disinformation campaign” in otherwise friendly elections between erstwhile alliance partners, the BNP and the Jamaat-I-Islami,” further stated Mr Chakma.

The RRAG stated that once election campaigning begins on 22 January 2026, the minorities especially the Hindus will face unprecedented violence because of their religious belief. These acts of violence against the Hindu minorities will be dismissed as “political violence” as Dr Yunus had dismissed massive attacks on Hindu minorities in August 2024 as attacks on the Awami League.

On 11 January 2026, Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission (EU EOM) in Bangladesh, Ivars Ijabs called for “inclusive” and “participatory” elections involving all small ethnic communities, religious minority groups and regional groups.

In the current atmosphere of systematic attacks, the Hindu minorities are unlikely to be able to participate in the election unless the Interim Government recognizes the attacks on the Hindu minorities because of their religious belief and take necessary measures to ensure their inclusive participation.

The RRAG urged the stakeholders sending election observers including the European Union should intervene with the Interim government of Bangladesh to ensure the inclusive participation of Hindu and other minorities, and further monitor acts of violence against indigenous peoples / ethnic communities and religious minority groups during the election process.