Hindu temple attacked, looted and burned to the ground by Muslim mob amid large scale persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh
Chittagong District, Bangladesh 
31 May, 2025
Case Summary
In the Sitakunda Upazila of Chattogram (Chittagong) district, Bangladesh, a Hindu temple was attacked, looted, and burned down by a mob of Muslims. According to the report, a mob of over 150 Muslims attacked the Kali Mata temple in Salimpur Kafrabad village. The attackers first vandalised the temple premises and looted valuables. When this did not satisfy them, they burned the entire temple to the ground. The aftermath shows a site reduced to ashes, with broken remains of idols and the charred remnants of the once sacred place. This attack is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of targeted violence against the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh. The level of hostility and religious intolerance against Hindus in Bangladesh continues to escalate, with such attacks becoming alarmingly frequent, especially since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024. Since then, Bangladesh has plunged into chaos as Islamist extremists have taken advantage of the political turmoil to unleash a wave of terror and violence against the Hindu community. The Islamist mobs have attacked Hindu homes, burned them to the ground, and abducted women in a horrific descent into anarchy. At least 205 attacks on Hindu temples, shops, and businesses reported within just three days of Dhaka’s fall. Reports have exposed how Muslim students forced around 60 Hindu teachers, professors, and government officials to resign. Exiled Bangladeshi activist Asad Noor has also revealed that the minority Hindu community is now being coerced into joining ‘Jamaat-e-Islami’. Hindu religious events have been repeatedly targeted. On 6th September, a procession carrying Lord Ganesha’s idol was attacked in Chittagong. Ahead of Durga Puja, multiple incidents of idol vandalism occurred, including attacks in Mymensingh, Pabna, Rajshahi, Kishoreganj, and Dhaka. On 29th November, a violent Muslim mob attacked three temples in Patharghata, Chittagong, immediately after Jumma Namaz. The crackdown on Hindu voices has also escalated. On 30th November, Hindu journalist Munni Saha was arrested in Dhaka. ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu and his aides have been targeted, while attempts to ban ISKCON and suppress Hindu protests through sedition charges highlight systematic persecution under Muhammad Yunus’s interim government. The lack of prompt action by the police further emboldens the perpetrators, which creates an atmosphere of fear and insecurity among Hindus in Bangladesh.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of: - Attack on Hindu religious representation. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Attack on temples. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The other sub-category relevant here is: - Desecration of Hindu religious symbol. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. This incident is a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus in Bangladesh. A Hindu temple was vandalised, looted and burned to the ground by Muslim mobs. Despite understanding that temples are centres of worship and sanctity for Hindus, the perpetrator vandalised the premises, broke the idols of Hindu gods and goddesses and burnt the Temple to the ground. This was not a random act of violence but a calculated assault on the religious identity and core tenets of the Hindu faith. This reflects a deep religious hatred of Muslims towards the Hindu beliefs. Burning the entire temple, along with the idols within it, was a deliberate act of intimidation, communicating to Hindus that their religious practices are unwelcome in a Muslim majority country like Bangladesh. These kinds of attacks are not isolated but are part of a recurring pattern of religious hostility towards Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Time and again, Hindu religious sites and symbols have been destroyed and desecrated by members of the Muslim community. This stems from religious animosity that exists in Islam against idol worshippers like Hindus, as idol worship is forbidden in Islam. This results in Hindus being frequently targeted and attacked just for practising their own faith. These attacks on temples and temple idols are not just acts of vandalism; they are direct assaults on the religious identity of Hindus. It highlights an atmosphere of religious intolerance where Hindu minority communities live under constant threat to their faith and dignity.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 10 to 100
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
