13 March, 2026 – Dhaka [Bangladesh], March 13 (ANI): People formed a human chain outside the National Press Club in Dhaka as they protested against the persecution of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh.
People expressed their frustration over the lack of action from the newly elected Bangladesh Nationalist Party’s government to stop the violence against Hindus.
Mrityunjay Kumar Roy, General Secretary, Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote, said, “We are here against atrocities on the Hindu minority community here – the murders, rapes and loots taking place…It has been almost one month since BNP came to power recently, and still the atrocities on Hindus continue”.
The cases of violence against Hindus and other minorities increased after the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in 2024.
Over the past week, two Hindu men were killed in separate incidents while four people, including a priest, sustained injuries after a crude bomb went off inside a temple in the country, according to the rights group Bangladesh Jatio Hindu Mohajote (Bangladesh National Grand Alliance).
Two persons were murdered in Bogura and Cox’s Bazar, on March 6 and March 7, while crude bombs were thrown at a Hindu temple in Cumilla city during a puja on March 8, triggering significant panic, the rights group said on Sunday.
“On March 7 (Saturday) at approximately 6:30 pm, during the worship of Shani Dev at a temple in the South Thakurpara area of Cumilla city, communal terrorists detonated crude bombs. The temple priest and four others were seriously injured,” Bangladesh Jatio Hindu Mohajote said in a statement.
A report by Bangladesh news outlet ‘The Daily Star’ confirmed details of the attack at the Kaligach Tala Kali Mandir. Touhidul Anwar, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Model Police Station, said priest Keshob Chakraborty, along with two others, received treatment at a hospital.
Sajol Kumar Chanda, president of the temple committee, said the blast occurred during the religious ceremony. CCTV footage reportedly showed a masked person entering the temple shortly before the explosion and leaving a bag behind.
Describing the moment of the blast, injured priest Keshab Chakraborty was cited by the Daily Star as saying, “After the bomb explosion, a white object fell in front of me… Later, seeing smoke, others told me it was a bomb.”
The news outlet reported witnesses as saying that panic spread in the area after the explosion. Following the first blast, attackers allegedly detonated two more crude bombs near a nearby Buddhist temple and a private office.
In the general elections last month, the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and its allies won a two-thirds majority in the parliament, following which Tarique Rahman became the country’s Prime Minister. (ANI)
(This content is sourced from a syndicated feed and is published as received. The Tribune assumes no responsibility or liability for its accuracy, completeness, or content.)
The Tribune