House arrest, blasphemy accusations, forceful closure of shops and more: Muslim mobs are unleashing terror on Hindus in Bangladesh while police whitewash atrocities
Hindus have been living in fear and under house arrest ever since frenzied Muslim mobs unleashed mayhem in Bantara village in Dinajpur Sadar upazila of Bangladesh under the pretext of ‘blasphemy.’
On 6th April this year, Muslims blocked the Dinajpur-Gobindaganj highway after accusing a Hindu man (identified as one Sobuj Das) of ‘insulting’ Prophet Muhammad. Radical outfits like Jammat-e-Islami and Hefazat-e-Islam also participated in the demonstrations.
They demanded the arrest and execution of the Hindu victim for supposedly committing ‘blasphemy’. The Muslim mobs unleashed carnage in the area in the presence of the police and the army.
Sobuj Das and his family had to flee the village, fearing for their safety and security. On the night of 3rd April, Muslims in Bantara village declared an indefinite closure of Hindu shops.
They also barred local Hindus from driving rickshaw vans. The extremists also threatened to vandalise and burn down Hindu properties if they dared to run their business in Bantar.
According to Bangladeshi journalist Shoaib Salahuddin Choudhury, the Muslim mobs also threatened to abduct Hindu women if they did not remain confined to their homes.
Noted Bangladeshi author-in-exile, Taslima Nasreen, highlighted that Hindus were being arrested in Bantara village in Dinajpur Sadar upazila. A case in point is that of a Hindu teacher named Upendranath Roy.
Roy was attacked and held hostage in his own home by a mob of ‘Tawhidi Janata’ – vigilante Muslims, unleashing violence under the pretext of protecting the tenets of Islam. The victim was then handed over to the police.
His only mistake was that he raised his voice against the collective persecution of the Hindu community in Bantara village.
Due to continued threats and fear of attacks, the 16-hour-long ‘Harinam Sankirtan’ was abandoned. The situation was further exacerbated by hate speeches made by a mob of ‘Tawhidi Janata’.
They openly acknowledged vandalising the house of Sobuj Das based on ‘blasphemous comments’ made on Facebook.
According to reports, more than 150 Hindu families had escaped from the area owing to immediate threats to their lives at the hands of the Muslim mobs.
After the news of the ill-treatment meted out to the Hindu community became viral, the same Muslims who threatened the Hindus for the past 7 days came forward to give out a message of ‘communal harmony.’
An announcement was also made from the microphone of the local mosque – “Hindu brothers, you open your shops or stay at home if you like. Do your work freely as per your occupation. There is nothing to fear or panic.”
Muslims gather for a Photo Op to showcase communal harmony in Dinajpur, image via Prothom Alo
Similar theatrics were witnessed during multiple religious conflicts in India (particularly in Delhi and Bengaluru)
The Bangladesh police swung into ‘damage control mode’ and claimed that reports of house arrest, persecution and illegal detention of Hindus in Bantara in Dinajpur Sadar Upazila are fake.
The cops made the claims via a Facebook post on Thursday (10th April).
Screengrab of the Facebook post by Bangladesh police
Muslims attack Hindu minorities in Bangladesh under pretext of blasphemy
This is not the first time that such an incident has come to light.
In February 2025, a Muslim mob comprising members of the radical ‘Hefazat-e-Islam Bangladesh’ and ‘Tawhidi Janata‘ hounded a Hindu man named Supta Saha Anik after accusing him of making ‘objectionable remarks’ about Islam.
The mob organised a protest rally in Kalmakanda upazila in the Netrakona district of Bangladesh after Jumma Namaz. They also demanded the immediate arrest of the Hindu man for supposedly insulting Prophet Muhammad and gave an ultimatum of 48 hours.
As expected, the violent Muslim mob raised genocidal slogans and vowed to make ‘ultimate sacrifie’ in order to avenge the supposed dishonour to Islam.
In January this year, a Hindu man named Pranta Talukder was abducted and tortured by a Muslim mob in the Chittagong city of Bangladesh. He was thrashed mercilessly and left severely injured over allegations of committing blasphemy.
In December 2024, Muslims carried out arson attack on 130 Hindu houses and 20 temples after accusing a young boy named Akash Das of making blasphemous comments on Facebook.
In October 2024, a frenzied Muslim mob laid siege to the Kadirdi Degree College in Boalmari in the Faridpur district of Bangladesh after accusing a Hindu boy named Hridoy Pal of ‘insulting’ Prophet Muhammad.
In September last year, a Hindu boy named Utsab Mandal was almost lynched by a Muslim mob on accusations of ‘blasphemy’ in the Sonadanga residential area of Khulna city.
Later that month, another frenzied Muslim mob laid siege to the Patiya police station in Chittagong district of Bangladesh, demanding that the cops hand over a Hindu boy accused of ‘insulting’ Prophet Muhammad.
The mob, comprising mostly local madrassa students, also attacked an army vehicle after seeing a young boy in civilian clothes and mistaking him for the Hindu victim. A 22-year-old Hindu youth named Partha Biswas Pintu was arrested on charges of committing ‘blasphemy’.
In May 2024, a Hindu student named Utsab Kumar Gian, studying at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Science and Technology University in Bangladesh, was thrashed by a Muslim mob on accusations of blasphemy.
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