A worrying rise in targeted killings and mob lynchings has shaken Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, with fresh incidents reported in the first week of 2026. Several violent attacks have taken place in recent weeks, especially after student leader Sharif Osman Hadi was shot dead. Since then, nearly half a dozen Hindu men have been killed.
In just 18 days, multiple members of the Hindu community have lost their lives in brutal attacks across the country. On January 5, another such incident was reported when 40-year-old Sarat Chakraborty Mani was attacked with sharp weapons and killed in Narsingdi, near Dhaka, by extremist religious groups. According to local news outlet Blitz, this was the sixth killing of a Hindu by extremists in Bangladesh within the past 18 days.
Who was Sarat Chakraborty?
Sarat Chakraborty Mani was a grocery shop owner and son of Madan Thakur from Sadharchar Union in Shibpur Upazila. His wife, Antara Mukherjee, is a homemaker. Mani had earlier worked in South Korea and returned to Bangladesh a few years ago. He later built a house in the Brahmandi area of Narsingdi town, where he lived with his family, the report said.
According to local residents and eyewitnesses, who spoke on condition of anonymity, Mani was running his grocery shop as usual at Charsindur Bazaar in Palash Upazila of Narsingdi when unidentified attackers suddenly attacked him with sharp weapons. He was seriously injured and died on the way to the hospital while locals were trying to take him for treatment, the report added.
Another killing on the same day
On the same day, a Hindu businessman, Rana Pratap Bairagi who was also the acting editor of a local newspaper, was shot dead by unknown attackers on Monday evening in Bangladesh’s Jessore district, according to a PTI report.
45 years old Bairagi was a resident of Arua village and the son of Tushar Kanti Bairagi from the neighbouring Keshabpur district, according to Bangla daily Prothom Alo.
Other recent attacks on Hindus
These two murders are part of a series of violent attacks on the Hindu community. In recent weeks, Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old garment worker, was beaten to death by a mob of nearly 150 people over unverified allegations of blasphemy. His body was later set on fire.
Another Hindu man, Amrit Mondal, 29, was lynched by a mob in Hosendanga village in the Pangsha upazila of Rajbari district. According to local media reports, Mondal and a few others had gone to the house of a local resident, Shahidul Islam, allegedly over a money-related dispute or a suspected extortion issue. Villagers quickly surrounded the group. While his companions reportedly managed to escape, Mondal was caught by the crowd and beaten severely. He was taken to a nearby hospital in critical condition, where doctors declared him dead.
In a separate incident in Mymensingh district, Bajendra Biswas was shot dead, ANI reported. On December 31, Khokon Chandra Das, Hindu businessman, was stabbed and then set on fire by a mob near Keurbhanga Bazar in Shariatpur district. He later died from his injuries while being treated at the National Burn Institute in Dhaka, according to The Daily Star, citing a Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) official.
What are victims families saying
A family member, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Blitz that Mani “lived a very simple life and had no disputes with anyone.” He added that Sarat was deeply worried about the situation in Bangladesh. On 19 December, Sarat wrote on Facebook: “So much fire everywhere, so much violence. My birthplace has turned into a valley of death…”
A neighbour of the deceased, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Sarat was a very calm, kind and socially responsible person who had no enemies. According to him, there could be only one reason for the killing of someone like Sarat – that he was Hindu, Blitz reported.
Prominent social activist Bappaditya Basu strongly condemned Mani’s murder. “Before the blood of one Hindu in Bangladesh has even dried, another Hindu is being killed. Before the news of Rana Pratap of Jessore could fade, Sarat Chakraborty Mani of Narsingdi was murdered.” He warned: “If this continues, there will be no existence of Hindus left in Bangladesh within a few years,” he told Blitz.
Bangladesh interim government’s take on killings
Meanwhile, the Bangladesh interim government condemned the killing of Amrit Mondal and said it does not support any unlawful actions.
“The government strongly condemns this killing. The government wishes to state unequivocally that it does not support any form of extrajudicial activity, mob violence, or unlawful conduct under any circumstances. Legal action will be taken against all those directly or indirectly involved in the incident,” it said.
The statement also raised concern over attempts to present the incident as a communal attack.
“The government urges all concerned to act responsibly and refrain from spreading misleading, provocative, or communal statements,” the statement added.
What has MEA said?
India has said that the continuous attacks on minorities in Bangladesh are a matter of serious concern. Addressing the media in New Delhi in the last week of December 2025, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said India strongly condemns the recent brutal killing of a Hindu youth in Mymensingh city and stressed that those responsible must be brought to justice.
He added that more than 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities – including killings, arson and land grabbing – have been recorded by independent sources during the tenure of Bangladesh’s interim government. Jaiswal said these incidents cannot be dismissed as media exaggeration or simply labelled as political violence.