Bangladesh: Minority Man Dies While Fleeing Mob Amid Rising Communal Tensions

Incident adds to concerns over increasing violence against minority communities ahead of elections

PTI, DHAKA, JAN 7, 2025: A 25-year-old Hindu man died after he jumped into a canal to escape a mob which accused him of theft in northwestern Bangladesh, in the latest incident of violence targeting the minority community.

The deceased was identified as Mithun Sarkar, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) spokesman Kajol Debnath said.

Sarkar was chased by a mob accusing him of theft in Naogaon district on Tuesday. To escape, he jumped into a canal but tragically drowned, Debnath said.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the Council demanded actions against “alarmingly increased and continued” persecution of minorities. As the date of the general elections draws nearer, communal violence is increasing at an alarming rate, it said, adding that the forum believed the incidents aimed to prevent minority voters from casting votes for candidates of their choice.

“The Central Committee of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad has expressed deep anger, concern and strong condemnation over the severity of communal violence,” it said.

It said minority communities across the country are gripped by fear and anxiety about an uncertain future and have become apprehensive about being able to cast their votes freely and without obstruction in the upcoming parliamentary elections.

The Council said it has recorded 51 incidents of communal violence in December 2025 alone. “These included 10 murders, 10 cases of theft and robbery, 23 incidents involving the occupation of homes, business establishments, temples and land, looting and arson,” it said. The Council, however, did not provide the details of four murders.

Four people were detained on alleged charges of defamation of Islam or being foreign agents, it added.

In the past seven days, it said, miscreants raped a Hindu widow, looted a Hindu jewellery shop and intimidated a Hindu deputy commissioner or administrative chief of northwestern Kurigram district as she was discharging duties as the election returning officer.