Hindu temples attacked, sacred murtis vandalised in Bogura amidst ongoing persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh
Bogra District, Bangladesh 
12 June, 2026
Case Summary
In the Kanchagari area under Deuli Union of Mokamtala Upazila in Bogura, Bangladesh, three Hindu temples were attacked and the sacred idols (murtis) of Hindu deities were desecrated in a single night by unidentified miscreants. This act triggered anger and concern among the local Hindu community. The attack targeted the Shiva Temple, the Shitala Mata Temple, and the Kali Temple situated within the Kanchagari Mahashamshan complex. On 13 June 2026, local Hindus discovered that the idols inside the temples had been vandalised, with broken pieces scattered across the premises when they arrived to perform their regular prayers. According to Ujjwal, a member of the Mahashamshan Management Committee, the damage was first discovered by his wife when she entered the Shiva Temple with a puja basket as part of the monthly worship ritual. She found the idol shattered, after which the matter was immediately reported to the local administration, local residents, and the Upazila Puja Udjapan Parishad. Upon receiving information about the incident, Acting Mokamtala Upazila Executive Officer Ziaur Rahman visited the affected temples, inspected the damage, and spoke with members of the Mahashamshan Management Committee regarding the incident. Subir Kumar Dutta, General Secretary of the Shibganj Upazila Puja Udjapan Parishad, condemned the desecration and demanded the immediate identification and arrest of those responsible, along with adequate security for the local Hindu community and their places of worship. Almas Hossain, officer-in-charge of the Mokamtala Police Investigation Centre, confirmed that no specific information about the perpetrators had been obtained at the time of reporting. He stated that the police had launched an investigation and were continuing efforts to identify those responsible and bring them to justice. 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 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 18th 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. 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 contributed to an environment of hostility and insecurity for the Hindu minority. The third phase of violence emerged after the 13th National Parliamentary Election 2026. Within days of the announcement of results, Hindu families in districts including Noakhali, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Sylhet, Thakurgaon, and Dinajpur reported 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 on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected in this case is: Desecration of Hindu religious symbol. Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The other subcategory selected is: Attack on Temples. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. This case is a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime targeting the Hindu faith and its adherents. In a single night, the sacred idols housed inside three separate Hindu temples, the Shiva Temple, the Shitala Temple and the Kali Temple in Bogura, were deliberately vandalised and desecrated by miscreants. The destruction of consecrated Hindu murtis inside multiple places of worship was not merely an act of damage to physical property but an assault on objects that embody the divine and occupy the centre of Hindu religious life. The coordinated targeting of three different temples demonstrates a conscious attack on Hindu religious symbols and sacred spaces, making this a clear instance of a religiously motivated hate crime rooted in hostility towards the Hindu faith. In Hinduism, a murti is not regarded as a mere statue or artistic representation but as a consecrated embodiment of the deity after the performance of Prana Pratishtha, the sacred ritual through which divine presence is invoked. Devotees worship the murti as a living manifestation of the deity, offering daily prayers, flowers, lamps, food and other rituals as expressions of devotion. The desecrated idols in this case represented Lord Shiva, Goddess Shitala and Goddess Kali, each of whom holds immense religious and spiritual significance. Lord Shiva is revered as the destroyer of evil and the transformer within the Hindu Trinity; Goddess Shitala is worshipped as the divine protector from disease and suffering, and Goddess Kali symbolises divine power, justice and the destruction of negative forces. For countless devotees, these deities are objects of profound faith, reverence and emotional attachment that form an inseparable part of their religious identity. Therefore, the deliberate destruction of these sacred murtis amounts to far more than an act of vandalism against inanimate objects. It constituted an attack on symbols that millions of Hindus regard as living embodiments of the divine. Such actions inflict deep emotional and spiritual pain upon the Hindu community, violate their religious sentiments and undermine their ability to practise their faith with dignity and security. By intentionally damaging the consecrated idols of revered Hindu deities, the perpetrators attacked the Hindu faith itself, making this a clear case of a religiously motivated hate crime rooted in anti-Hindu hostility and hatred. Acts of idol desecration have historically been used as instruments of religious intimidation and persecution against Hindu communities. The destruction of sacred objects seeks to convey contempt for the beliefs of an entire religious group and to create fear, humiliation and insecurity among worshippers. Such acts are not directed solely at stone or metal images but at the identity, traditions and collective religious consciousness of the community that venerates them. The vandalism of multiple Hindu idols in this case reflects hostility towards Hinduism and serves as an act of symbolic violence intended to intimidate and marginalise Hindus. Hindu temples are sacred spaces where devotees gather for worship, festivals, community service, religious education and the preservation of cultural traditions. The temple and its consecrated deities are inseparable components of a single sacred ecosystem. The sanctity of a temple derives from the divine presence embodied in its murtis, and the daily rituals performed before them form the heart of temple worship. Consequently, an attack on the temple's idols is simultaneously an attack on the temple itself and on the community that worships there. In this case, the perpetrators did not target one isolated shrine but desecrated the sacred idols housed in three different Hindu temples. The coordinated nature of the attack demonstrates hostility towards multiple Hindu places of worship and reinforces its character as a religiously motivated hate crime directed against Hindu faith and identity. This incident also occurred within the broader context of continuing anti-Hindu hostility in Bangladesh, where Hindu minorities have repeatedly faced attacks on temples, idol desecration, assaults, intimidation, land grabbing, forced displacement and other forms of persecution. Such incidents have generated widespread insecurity among Hindu communities and have contributed to an environment in which places of worship and religious symbols remain vulnerable to targeted violence. Against this backdrop, the desecration of three Hindu temples cannot be viewed in isolation but forms part of a continuing pattern of attacks on Hindu religious institutions and the broader persecution of the Hindu minority in Bangladesh. In this case, although the identities of the perpetrators have not been established at the time of reporting, the nature of the act itself clearly reflected hostility towards Hinduism and the Hindu community. Therefore, this case is being added to the hate crime database of the Hinduphobia Tracker.
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