Hindu woman murdered, her throat slit by Muslims in Bogura amidst ongoing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh

Case ID : 30a89da | Location : Bogra District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Tue, 19 May, 2026

Case ID : 30a89da

Bogra District, Bangladesh

19 May, 2026

Hindu woman murdered, her throat slit by Muslims in Bogura amidst ongoing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh

Attack resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Mominhata village under Sukhanpukur Union in Gabtali Upazila of Bogura, Bangladesh, Rita Majumder, a 50-year-old Hindu housewife, was brutally murdered inside her home on the night of 20 May 2026 by two Muslim men. According to reports, on the day of the incident, Rita and her husband, Bidhan Majumder, had dinner and later went to sleep in separate rooms. Police stated that prior to the incident, two local Muslim men, Md. Anwar Hossain (35) and Md. Shawon Mia (20) had learned that money from a land sale was being kept inside the Majumder household. Both worked as day labourers involved in paddy harvesting in the area. Police claimed that the two men then conspired to rob the money and planned the attack. As per the police investigation, on the night of the murder, Rita and her husband were outside the house gathering paddy and straw. Taking advantage of the situation, the two accused entered the property and hid inside the room used for storing cattle fodder. Later, deep into the night, Shawon knocked on the door of the house. Hearing the knock, Rita Majumder came out carrying a flashlight. Police stated that once Rita recognised them, Anwar attacked her with a sickle. Her throat was slit during the assault, and she collapsed in a pool of blood. Investigators stated that Rita died on the spot due to excessive bleeding from the sharp-weapon injuries. After hearing Rita’s screams, her husband, Bidhan Majumder, rushed toward the room carrying a stick. He found the door open and discovered Rita lying dead on the floor with severe injuries to her throat. By then, the accused had fled the scene. Following the incident, Gabtali Police Station launched an investigation under the direction of Bogura District Superintendent of Police Mirza Sayem Mahmud (PPM). Police stated that they used information technology and covert intelligence gathering methods during the probe. On 24 May 2026, at around 10:30 PM, police detained Shawon Mia from his residence. During interrogation, he confessed to involvement in the murder and implicated Anwar Hossain. Police subsequently arrested Anwar as well. Investigators further stated that after fleeing the crime scene, the accused disposed of the two sickles used in the murder by throwing them into a wetland. On 25 May 2026, police recovered both weapons in the presence of witnesses. Authorities also said that they had recovered several pieces of evidence connected to the case, including the clothing worn during the murder, mobile phones, SIM cards, and an Itel mobile phone belonging to the accused. The recovered items included Anwar’s trousers and T-shirt, Shawon’s black T-shirt and trousers, and the two sickles used in the killing. At the time of writing this report, the Gabtali Police stated that legal proceedings in connection with the murder of Rita Majumder are currently underway. 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, Rita Majumder, a Hindu woman from Mominhata village under Gabtali Upazila in Bogura, Bangladesh, was brutally murdered inside her home after her throat was slit with a sickle by two Muslim men. 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 brutal nature of the Hindu woman’s murder, carried out inside her own residence during the night, intensified fear and concern within the local Hindu community. Rita Majumder was attacked after the accused had already concealed themselves within the property and waited for an opportunity to strike. Her husband later discovered her body lying on the floor with fatal injuries to her throat. The circumstances surrounding the murder, 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 premeditated and violent nature of the attack, 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 Bogura must also be viewed within Bangladesh’s documented anti-Hindu environment, where Hindu minorities frequently face insecurity, intimidation, violence, and attacks on their homes and livelihoods. The murder of a Hindu woman inside her own house 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 violent crimes involving vulnerable Hindu minorities, this case meets the threshold for inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker’s hate crime database.