Teacher’s home set ablaze in Bangladesh amid rising attacks on minorities

Dhaka: As violence against minorities continues to escalate in Bangladesh, the home of a school teacher, a Hindu, was set ablaze in Gowainghat upazila of Sylhet district.

The incident took place at the house of a school teacher, Birendra Kumar Dey, sparking fear and panic among his family and nearby residents.

A video of the attack circulated widely on social media, showing flames rapidly engulfing the house as family members struggled to escape.

A video of the incident surfaced on the social media platform X, with local media reports stating that a Hindu household had once again come under attack in Bangladesh. According to these reports, the home of a schoolteacher was allegedly set on fire by Islamist groups in Bahor village of Nandirgaon union under Gowainghat upazila in Sylhet district.

Earlier this week, another Hindu man was hacked and stabbed to death by miscreants in Daganbhuiyan upazila of Feni district, local media reported.

The body of 27-year-old auto-rickshaw driver Samir Das was recovered from a crop field in Jagatpur village of Bangladesh on Monday, January 12.

Citing family members and police, Bangladesh’s Bengali newspaper Daily Manobkantha reported that Samir left home in his autorickshaw on Sunday evening. When he failed to return late into the night, his relatives began searching for him at various locations.

Later, local residents discovered Samir’s frozen body lying in a field in Jagatpur village under the Sadar union of the upazila. After being informed, police reportedly rushed to the scene and recovered the body.

This marked the ninth incident in 24 days, highlighting a disturbing surge in violence targeting Hindu communities throughout Bangladesh.

One Hindu murdered every three days

A New Delhi-based rights group, the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG), has claimed that at least 15 members of the Hindu minority community were killed in Bangladesh over the past 45 days, allegedly by individuals belonging to the Muslim majority.

RRAG Director Suhas Chakma said on Thursday, January 15, that “in the last 45 days between December 1, 2025 to 15 January 15, 2026, at least 15 minority Hindus were murdered by persons belonging to the majority Muslims in Bangladesh — murder of one Hindu every third day.”

According to the RRAG Director, these murders are just tip of the iceberg on other daily acts of violence against Hindus and other minorities across Bangladesh and no news of these violence appeared in the media.

“This extreme vulnerability of the Hindu minorities in Bangladesh faces a new challenge. Unlike the previous governments, whether the Awami League or the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Interim government led by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus has been dismissing any religious angles to these attacks, often before inquiry into the murders,” he said.

The RRAG said that once election campaigning begins, the minorities, especially the Hindus, will face unprecedented violence.

In the current atmosphere of systematic attacks, the Hindu minorities are unlikely to be able to participate in the election unless the interim government recognises the attacks on the Hindu minorities because of their religious belief and takes necessary measures to ensure their participation, the statement added.

The RRAG urged all the stakeholders sending election observers, including the European Union, to intervene with the interim government to ensure the inclusive participation of minorities in the election.