Hindu man killed, another critically injured in brutal attack by burqa-clad assailants in Chattogram, Bangladesh

Case ID : 30a8e35 | Location : Chittagong District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Mon, 8 June, 2026

Case ID : 30a8e35

Chittagong District, Bangladesh

8 June, 2026

Hindu man killed, another critically injured in brutal attack by burqa-clad assailants in Chattogram, Bangladesh

Attack resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Patiya, Chattogram, Bangladesh, a Hindu man, Pankaj Shil (35), was stabbed to death by three unidentified burqa-clad assailants, while another Hindu man, Tilak Shil (35), sustained critical injuries in the same attack. The incident occurred at around 8 pm on 9 June 2026 in the Paschim Par area of Jaulur Dighi. According to local sources, Pankaj and Tilak were returning home from the local market when they noticed three suspicious individuals standing on the western bank of Jaulur Dighi. One of the perpetrators was a young man wearing a burqa. As the two victims repeatedly shone a flashlight to identify the people, the assailants suddenly attacked them with sharp weapons. Both Hindu victims suffered grievous injuries and collapsed at the scene. Local residents rushed them to Patiya Upazila Health Complex, from where they were referred to Chittagong Medical College Hospital for advanced treatment. Pankaj Shil succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment, while Tilak Shil remained in a critical condition. The incident created tension in the locality, following which police reached the spot and initiated an investigation. Police detained one individual on suspicion of involvement in the attack, although the identity of the detainee was not immediately disclosed. The Officer-in-Charge of Patiya Police Station stated that the detained individual is being questioned and that efforts are underway to identify and apprehend the remaining perpetrators. According to the police, the investigation is ongoing to ascertain the motive behind the fatal attack. 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 ?

The primary category selected in this case is: 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, two Hindu men, Pankaj Shil and Tilak Shil, were violently attacked by unidentified assailants in Chattogram, Bangladesh, resulting in the death of Pankaj Shil and leaving Tilak Shil critically injured. 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 available details do not explicitly establish a religious motive and suggest that the attack stemmed from an encounter with suspicious individuals, the broader context of anti-Hindu hostility, persecution, and insecurity in Bangladesh remains relevant for classification. During periods marked by sustained violence, intimidation, and targeting of Hindus based on their religious identity, the Hinduphobia Tracker applies a contextual presumption that attacks on Hindu victims may be faith-targeted, even when immediate reports do not record an explicit religious motive or attribute the violence to criminal or local circumstances. In such circumstances, the vulnerability of Hindu communities and the normalisation of hostility towards religious minorities can contribute to attacks occurring without perpetrators openly expressing religious intent. 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 killing of Pankaj Shil and the critical injury sustained by Tilak Shil generated concern among local Hindus because the victims belonged to a vulnerable religious minority community. Although the immediate trigger appears to have been their attempt to identify suspicious individuals present in the area, the fatal assault reinforced existing fears among Hindus living in an environment already characterised by recurring incidents of anti-Hindu hostility, intimidation, and violence. This incident must also be viewed within Bangladesh's broader anti-Hindu environment, where Hindu minorities frequently face insecurity, intimidation, land-related conflicts, social pressure, and violence. Attacks on Hindus are often attributed to ostensibly non-religious causes such as personal disputes, criminal activities, property disagreements, or other local conflicts, thereby obscuring the possibility of underlying religious hostility. In many instances, such explanations can divert attention from the broader pattern of discrimination and violence faced by Hindu minorities. In the present case, local reports stated that one of the three perpetrators encountered by the victims was wearing a burqa before the assault began. While this fact alone does not establish the identity, religion, or motive of the perpetrators, it exists against the backdrop of an ongoing environment in which Hindus constitute a vulnerable minority and have reported recurring incidents of intimidation and violence. Consequently, the possibility that the victims may have been attacked by members of the majority Muslim community during this broader period of religious persecution cannot be conclusively ruled out on the basis of the information presently available. The fatal attack on Pankaj Shil and the grievous assault on Tilak Shil contributed to feelings of insecurity within the local Hindu community and reinforced the reality of vulnerability, irrespective of whether the perpetrators explicitly stated a religious motive. Given the prevailing anti-Hindu persecution environment in Bangladesh and the continuing pattern of violence affecting vulnerable Hindu minorities, this case meets the threshold for inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker's hate crime database.