At least 116 members of minority communities were killed in Bangladesh in just seven months, pointing to a “relentless” and nationwide surge in violence following the formation of the interim government
led by Muhammad Yunus, according to a new report by the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM).
The report documents killings between June 6, 2025, and January 5, 2026, spread across all eight administrative divisions and at least 45 districts, underscoring that the violence is not confined to isolated pockets but represents a countrywide crisis.
The rights group says the scale and spread of the attacks mark one of the most severe phases of violence against minorities in recent years.
HRCBM places the current spike in a broader historical context, arguing that violence against minorities in Bangladesh is part of a long-standing pattern stretching back nearly eight decades.
Beginning with communal unrest in 1946, minorities have faced repeated waves of killings, displacement and property seizures in 1950, 1964 and 1971.
The cycle, the report notes, continued even after independence, with major outbreaks recorded in 1989, 1990, 2001, 2004, 2012, 2015, 2021, 2024 and now again in 2025. Together, these episodes reflect what the group describes as an entrenched and recurring crisis rather than sporadic unrest.
According to the report’s findings, nearly half of the deaths, 48.3 per cent, were the result of targeted murders, while mob lynchings accounted for 10.3 per cent.
Suspicious or unexplained deaths made up 12.9 per cent of cases, the same proportion as deaths linked to attacks during broader incidents of violence.
Killings in custody or involving police forces stood at 6.9 per cent, while 8.6 per cent were attributed to lethal action by the army or other state forces.
HRCBM argues that these killings cannot be dismissed as random criminal acts. Instead, it describes the violence as “structural,” rooted in systemic discrimination and long-term demographic change.
The report points out that minorities constituted around 30 per cent of Bangladesh’s population in 1946, a figure that had dropped to below 9 per cent by 2020. This sustained decline, it warns, reflects repeated, large-scale crimes targeting entire communities over generations.
The nature of the violence has varied, the report says. In many cases, victims were singled out after facing threats, intimidation or social pressure within their localities.
Mob lynchings frequently followed unverified accusations of theft or blasphemy. The report also documents deaths involving state agencies, including security force shootings and fatalities in police custody.
Dipu Das’ Lynching
One case highlighted is the December 2025 lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, who was beaten to death by a mob following an allegation of blasphemy.
The incident, HRCBM says, triggered a fresh wave of fear among minority communities. In such cases, the report alleges, police often failed to intervene in time, reinforcing perceptions that mob violence is tacitly tolerated.
The rights group also flags serious weaknesses in the justice system, claiming police are frequently reluctant to register cases or conduct thorough investigations. Political interference and selective enforcement of the law have, it says, fostered a climate of near-total impunity for perpetrators.
Beyond the statistics, the report stresses the human toll of the violence.
Many of those killed were the sole breadwinners for their families, leaving widows, children and elderly dependents without financial support and deepening the social and economic marginalisation of minority communities.
