Elderly Hindu man killed, his throat slit in Nilphamari, Bangladesh, amidst ongoing persecution of Hindus

Case ID : 30a7d0d | Location : Nilphamari District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Mon, 13 April, 2026

Case ID : 30a7d0d

Nilphamari District, Bangladesh

13 April, 2026

Elderly Hindu man killed, his throat slit in Nilphamari, Bangladesh, amidst ongoing persecution of Hindus

Attack resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In the Singibaari MahaShashan Kali Temple of Nilphamari district, Bangladesh, an elderly Hindu devotee named Prabhat Roy was brutally murdered with his throat slit within the temple premises by unknown miscreants. The Hindu devotee, known locally for his disciplined lifestyle and unwavering religious devotion, had followed a fixed daily routine centred around daily puja and temple worship. On the morning of 14 April 2026, he had been preparing for a puja at his residence and carried his usual kataari, informing family members that he would return after bringing banana leaves. When he did not return, concern grew among relatives and locals. His body was later discovered lying inside the temple premises, near the feet of the deity he worshipped daily, with his throat slit in a gruesome manner. The circumstances of the death, particularly the location within a place of worship and the manner of injury, raised serious concerns among family members and the local community. Local residents familiar with the victim’s life and habits stated that he had no history or inclination towards self-harm and maintained a consistent routine rooted in religious observance. The incident caused shock and distress in the area, since the victim was murdered inside the temple. Locals found the bloodied body around 10:00 am and informed the family, which then reported it to the police. The corpse was sent to the Nilphamari General Hospital morgue for a postmortem. Citing the inquest report, the police stated that there was an injury mark on the left side of Prabhat's neck. As of the date of writing this report, the investigation was ongoing, A fresh wave of anti-Hindu violence followed the 13th National Parliamentary Election 2026 in Bangladesh, reinforcing a recurring pattern of post-poll violence targeting Hindu minorities. Within days of the announcement of results, Hindu families in districts such as Noakhali, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Sylhet, Thakurgaon, and Dinajpur reported coordinated attacks involving arson, looting, assault, and vandalism of temples and homes. In several instances, Hindu homes were selectively targeted, looted, and families were threatened with displacement. This escalation of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh unfolded in three distinct phases: first, following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024; second, after the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi in December 2025; and third, in the immediate aftermath of the 13th National Parliamentary Election 2026. This electoral violence unfolded against the broader backdrop of sustained anti-Hindu hostility that had persisted since the ouster of the Sheikh Hasina government in August 2024. During that period, multiple reports documented attacks on Hindu homes, temples, and religious institutions, alongside intimidation campaigns, arson, and mob assaults targeting minority neighbourhoods. The Hinduphobia tracker has recorded 336 such incidents against the Hindu minority, underscoring the scale and persistence of anti-Hindu violence during this period. A further escalation occurred following the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, a Muslim political activist and student leader known for his anti-Hindu and anti-India rhetoric. Hadi had been involved in political unrest after the fall of the Hasina government and was killed in Dhaka on 18 December 2025 during clashes. In the aftermath of his death, Hindu communities were blamed and subsequently targeted in retaliatory violence. Hindu homes were selectively set ablaze in multiple localities, forcing families to flee and leaving many displaced. The attacks appeared patterned rather than sporadic, with Muslim mobs focusing on Hindu neighbourhoods, properties, and religious symbols. Among the victims was Dipu Chandra Das, who was lynched to death and his body was set ablaze by a Muslim mob over false blasphemy allegations. The Hinduphobia tracker documented 51 incidents of anti-Hindu violence in the period following Hadi’s death alone. Such incidents underscore the vulnerability of the Hindu minority amid rising communal hostility and the weaponisation of religious accusations. Reports further indicated that posters and written materials calling for the extermination of Hindus were displayed in public spaces, signalling an alarming normalisation of genocidal rhetoric. When combined with acts of arson, vandalism, assault, and targeted intimidation, these developments suggest a coordinated environment of hostility aimed at terrorising the Hindu community and reinforcing majoritarian dominance.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack resulting in Death. The subcategory selected 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. This case reflects a deeply disturbing instance of violence against a Hindu devotee, who was found with his throat slit within the premises of the Singibaari MahaShashan Kali Temple in Nilphamari district, Bangladesh. The brutality of the act, carried out at a site of daily worship and directed at an individual known for his consistent religious devotion, situates the incident within the broader environment of hostility faced by Hindus in the country. While some may argue that the case details do not explicitly state a religious motive, the broader context of anti-Hindu persecution in Bangladesh remains relevant for classification. During periods of sustained violence against Hindus based on religious identity, the Hinduphobia Tracker applies a contextual presumption that attacks on Hindu victims were likely faith-targeted, even when the immediate report does not record a specific religious marker. In such periods, the normalisation of religious hostility and the dehumanisation of minorities can contribute to crimes against them without perpetrators openly stating a motive. For the purpose of documenting the 2024 to 2026 ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh and the subsequent persecution after political exile of Sheikh Hasina, the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, and the 13th National Parliamentary Election 2026 in Bangladesh, Hinduphobia Tracker records such incidents as likely religiously motivated at the point of entry. If any case is later established through credible investigation or court findings to stem from motivations other than religious hostility, it will be revised or removed from the hate crime database. The nature of the killing, involving the slitting of the victim’s throat within a Hindu temple, reflects a level of brutality and symbolic violation consistent with other reported attacks on Hindu individuals and places of worship during this period. The choice of location, a temple associated with Maa Kali worship, further reinforces the contextual relevance of religious identity in assessing the crime. Acts of violence occurring within sacred spaces carry an added dimension of intimidation and desecration, extending beyond the individual victim to the wider community. The case is documented as likely involving faith targeting, given the victim’s identity and the surrounding pattern of persecution, while remaining open to revision if new facts emerge. Notably, this murder occurred amidst escalating anti-Hindu violence following the 13th National Parliamentary Election, when Hindu homes, temples, and businesses faced widespread arson and attacks across Bangladesh. When viewed alongside such incidents, the present case is recorded as part of a broader cycle of violence affecting Hindus, reinforcing the contextual presumption applied in this period. Given this pattern and the nature of the crime, the case is recorded in the Hinduphobia Tracker's hate crime database.