Bangladesh: Hindu man jumps into canal to escape mob, dies

Dhaka: 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.

It said that standing paddy crops on 96 decimal land belonging to Satyaranjan Das were burned in southeastern Laxmimur on January 2.

The Hindu population in Bangladesh has been affected by a series of incidents against minority communities in the country after the killing of radical youth leader Sharif Osman Hadi in December.

A 40-year-old grocery shop owner, identified as Moni Chakraborty, was murdered by unidentified attackers who struck him with a sharp weapon on the night of January 5 at Charsindhur Bazar in Palash Upazila.

Rana Pratap Bairagi, a 38-year-old ice-making factory owner, who was also the acting editor of a newspaper called 'Dainik BD Khabar' published from Narail, was fatally shot in the head by unidentified assailants on January 5 in Jessore district.

Khokon Chandra Das, 50, was brutally attacked, hacked and set on fire by miscreants while returning home after closing his shop on the night of December 31. He died in a hospital three days later on January 3.