Hindu youth murdered in Mymensingh amidst ongoing persecution of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh

Case ID : 30a8947 | Location : Mymensingh District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Thu, 21 May, 2026

Case ID : 30a8947

Mymensingh District, Bangladesh

21 May, 2026

Hindu youth murdered in Mymensingh amidst ongoing persecution of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh

Attack resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In the Begunbari area of Mymensingh Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh, a Hindu man was murdered and his body was dumped in a pond by a few unidentified assailants. As per reports, the police recovered the body of the Hindu victim named Bijoy Barman (26), two days after he went missing. The incident created a sensation in the area, while the victim’s family stated that he had been killed in a planned manner. Bijoy Barman was the son of Haripada Barman, a fish trader from Muktagachha Upazila, who worked at a local drug store. According to police and local sources, Bijoy had gone to Mymensingh city from Muktagachha on the night of 22 May 2026 to spend time with friends. Later, he returned home in an intoxicated state. Around midnight, the Hindu man went to a nearby forest with some friends and had remained missing since then. Family members searched for him throughout Saturday (23 May 2026) in various places but could not locate him. On Sunday (24 May 2026) morning, locals spotted his body floating among water hyacinths in a pond some distance away from the house and informed the police. Family members later arrived at the scene and identified the body. The deceased Hindu man’s cousin, Subrata Barman, stated that Bijoy was the youngest among two brothers and a sister and was also the father of a one-year-old daughter. He stated that Bijoy had been killed in a planned manner and demanded a proper investigation along with the speedy arrest and punishment of those responsible. Mymensingh Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Mohammad Shibirul Islam stated that police recovered the body from the scene and sent it to the Mymensingh Medical College Hospital morgue for autopsy. He added that an investigation is underway to determine the actual cause of the incident and that legal proceedings are in process. This escalation of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh has 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. Following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, 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. The third phase of violence was unleashed after the 13th National Parliamentary Election 2026. 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.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case was 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. In this case, Hindu man Bijoy Barman from Mymensingh, Bangladesh, was found dead under suspicious circumstances after going missing during the night. His family stated that he was killed in a planned manner, while his body was later recovered floating in a pond near his locality. In the prevailing environment of anti-Hindu hostility in Bangladesh, the incident aligns with the broader pattern of insecurity, violence, and targeting faced by vulnerable Hindu minorities. 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 are 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 the political exile of Sheikh Hasina, the death of Sharif Osman Hadi, and the 13th National Parliamentary Election 2026, the 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 suspicious and unexplained nature of the Hindu man’s death, coupled with the family’s assertion of a planned killing, intensified fear and concern within the local Hindu community. Bijoy Barman went missing after leaving with friends during the night, and his body was later discovered floating among water hyacinths in a pond. The circumstances surrounding the death, along with the victim’s identity as a Hindu belonging to a vulnerable minority community, significantly heightened communal anxieties. The case warrants documentation as probable religious targeting given the victim’s Hindu minority status, the family’s statement that he was murdered in a planned manner, and the broader pattern of anti-Hindu persecution and insecurity in Bangladesh, while remaining open to any new evidence that may emerge through investigation. This incident in Mymensingh must also be viewed within Bangladesh’s documented anti-Hindu environment, where Hindu minorities frequently face insecurity, intimidation, and violence in both public and private life. The death of a Hindu man under suspicious circumstances created fear among local Hindus and reinforced concerns regarding the safety and vulnerability of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Incidents of this nature deepen psychological insecurity within the wider Hindu community and reinforce the perception that Hindus remain vulnerable amidst the continuing climate of anti-Hindu hostility. The victim joins numerous Hindu individuals in Bangladesh whose religious identity has increasingly become associated with vulnerability and fear. Given the prevailing anti-Hindu persecution environment in Bangladesh and the broader pattern of attacks and suspicious deaths involving vulnerable Hindu minorities, this case meets the threshold for inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker’s hate crime database.