Mob culture will not be tolerated, warns Bangladesh's new BNP-led government

Dhaka: Bangladesh's new BNP-led government on Wednesday warned that "mob culture" will not be tolerated, amid a rise in mob violence, extrajudicial killings and attacks on minority communities.

Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir, the senior-most minister in the new Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government, said that the law and order issue was one of three priorities and the administration would take steps to end "mob violence".

"Absolutely," he told reporters when asked if the new administration would take proper steps to contain the "mob violence".

Alamgir, who is also the party's secretary general and entrusted with the charge of the local government ministry, said, "This (mob violence) will be controlled."

"We must strive to improve the law and order situation, regardless of how much it has deteriorated," he added.

Prime Minister Tarique Rahman on Wednesday chaired the first meeting of his newly formed cabinet, which set a 180-day priority plan with a focus on controlling commodity prices, maintaining law and order and stabilising supply chains.

After the meeting, Home Minister Salahuddin Ahmed described the restoration of law and order issue as a priority, alongside controlling prices of essentials and ensuring uninterrupted power and energy supply.

"The mob culture in no way can be tolerated," Ahmed told reporters.

Bangladesh has witnessed several cases of mob lynching in recent months, mostly targeting members of the Hindu community, during the interim regime of Muhammad Yunus.

The Yunus regime took charge after a violent student-led street movement toppled then-prime minister Sheikh Hasina's Awami League government on August 5, 2024.

Since then, Bangladesh has experienced a rise in mob violence, extrajudicial killings and attacks on minority communities.

Rights group Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF) said that in January 2026 alone, they documented 21 incidents of lynching and 28 incidents of mob beatings.

Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council reported 522 communal attacks in 2025, including killings, rapes, and temple vandalism, with murders of 116 people of minority faiths, mostly Hindus, between June 2025 and January 2026.

The reports suggested leaders and activists of the Awami League, disbanded by the Yunus' regime, were the victims of most attacks.

Media watchdogs suggested over 640 attacks on journalists since the interim government took power, including two major incidents in which the right-wing mobs set alight the mass circulation Prothom Alo and The Daily Star offices.