Hindu Temple caretaker murdered in Bangladesh amid ethnic cleansing of Hindus

Case ID : 19e21a5 | Location : Chittagong District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Sun, 13 October, 2024

Case ID : 19e21a5

Chittagong District, Bangladesh

13 October, 2024

Hindu Temple caretaker murdered in Bangladesh amid ethnic cleansing of Hindus

Attack resulting in death

Attack against Hindu devotees

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

The body of 80-year-old Hindu priest Sukumar Das was found hanging from a tree near his home in Sitakunda, Chittagong, Bangladesh. Das, the caretaker of the Loknath temple, was believed to have been murdered before being hung, as his feet touched the ground, ruling out suicide. His son, Jhantu Das, confirmed that his father could not have taken his own life. The incident occurred amid growing violence against Hindus in Bangladesh, especially during Durga Puja. Authorities sent the body for post-mortem examination. As per the local Hindu community, the deceased served the temple every single day despite his ailing health. Das would eat and sleep by 8 o’clock in the night. He would wake up early in the morning and conduct puja at the Loknath temple. The deceased is now survived by 4 sons and 4 daughters. Jhantu Das, the middle son of Sukumar Das, spoke to Prothom Alo and ruled out any possibility of suicide of the 80-year-old. “My father could not have committed suicide. He had been murdered and hung from the tree. No one can die if their feet is touching the ground while hanging from a rope,” he added.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case is being added to the primary category 'Attack resulting in death' under two sub-categories. The first sub-category is 'attacked for Hindu identity'. In several cases, Hindus are attacked merely for their Hindu identity without any perceived provocation. A classic example of this category of religiously motivated hate crime is a murder in 2016. 7 ISIS terrorists were convicted for shooting a school principal in Kanpur because they got ‘triggered’ seeing the Kalava on his wrist and tilak that he had put. In this, the Hindu victim had offered no provocation except for his Hindu religious identity. The motivation for the murder was purely religious, driven by religious supremacy. Such cases where Hindus are targeted merely for their religious identity would be documented as a hate crime. Under this category, cases where the attack led to the death of the Hindu victim/s would be documented. The second sub-category this case is being added to is 'attack against Hindu devotees'. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols, and traditions/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society, etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem the religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. Under this category, cases where the attack led to the death of the Hindu victim/s would be documented. In this case, the investigation has not revealed who murdered the Hindu priest in Bangladesh and what the motive behind the heinous murder was, however, when there is an ongoing ethnic cleansing based on religious identity, every crime in and of itself is assumed to be motivated by the same religious animosity even if there is a lack of specific religious marker in the immediate crime. During an ongoing ethnic cleansing, the dehumanisation of a people based on their religious identity and the normalisation of religious hostility drives the crimes committed against them even when there is a lack of stated religious motive. For the purpose of documenting the 2024 ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh, the Hinduphobia Tracker is assuming religious motivation ab initio. If a case is specifically and beyond reasonable doubt proven to be driven by motivations other than religious hostility, it will post-facto be removed from the hate crime database.