Hindu family brutally attacked, women molested by Muslim mob in Sirajganj amid rising attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh

Case ID : 30a90df | Location : Sirajganj District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Fri, 19 June, 2026

Case ID : 30a90df

Sirajganj District, Bangladesh

19 June, 2026

Hindu family brutally attacked, women molested by Muslim mob in Sirajganj amid rising attacks on religious minorities in Bangladesh

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Tarash Upazila of Sirajganj, Bangladesh, a Hindu family was brutally attacked by a Muslim mob led by Saiful Islam and Saidul Islam. Even the female family members were subjected to molestation. The attack took place under the pretext of encroaching upon the victim family's home. According to media reports, the attack occurred at around 5:30 pm on 20 June 2026 in the Ghoshpara area, where a group of approximately 50–60 Muslims, including Shamim, Fazlur, and several others, stormed the residence of the Ghosh family and carried out an ambush attack on the Hindu family. The attackers used sharp weapons, including knives, during the assault. Several members of the Hindu family were injured in the attack, including Ranjit Ghosh, Mithun Ghosh, Rina Ghosh, Ratna Ghosh, Suchitra Ghosh, and Sandeep Ghosh. Some of the victims, including Ranjit Ghosh, were admitted to hospital in critical condition and underwent treatment. The Hindu family stated that Muslims had been attempting to seize their property for a long time and that the attack formed part of this ongoing effort. Women in the family were also subjected to molestation during the assault. The incident created fear and panic in the area, while the Hindu family stated that they had been living under insecurity since the attack and feared further violence. The victims demanded the immediate arrest of the attackers, a fair investigation into the incident, and protection for their lives, property, and home. 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 is added to the tracker under the primary category: Attack not 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 the 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. In this case, a Hindu family in Bangladesh was attacked by a Muslim mob led by Saiful Islam and Saidul Islam. 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 point towards a land or property dispute and do not explicitly establish a religious motive, the broader context of anti-Hindu hostility, persecution, and insecurity in Bangladesh remains relevant for classification. During periods marked by sustained violence, intimidation, land-grabbing, 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 attribute the violence to property disputes or other local conflicts and do not record an explicit religious motive. 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 2024–2026 ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh and the subsequent persecution following 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 attack generated concern among local Hindus because the victims belonged to a vulnerable religious minority community. Although the immediate pretext was presented as a property-related conflict and encroachment of the Hindu family's home, the violent targeting of a Hindu household by a large, armed Muslim mob, including brutal attack and molestation of Hindu women, reinforced existing fears among Hindus living in an environment already characterised by recurring incidents of anti-Hindu hostility, intimidation, land-related coercion, and violence. This incident must also be viewed within Bangladesh's broader anti-Hindu environment, where Hindu minorities frequently face insecurity, intimidation, land-grabbing attempts, social pressure, and violence. Attacks on Hindus are often attributed to ostensibly non-religious causes such as property disputes, criminal activities, personal 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. The assault on the Ghosh family 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. Disclaimer: Reports indicate that multiple members of the Ghosh family were injured during the attack. The victims specifically identified by name in available reports are Ranjit Ghosh, Mithun Ghosh, Rina Ghosh, Ratna Ghosh, Suchitra Ghosh, and Sandeep Ghosh. Since no fatalities were reported and the exact extent of injuries suffered by other family members remains unclear, the Hinduphobia Tracker is conservatively recording only those victims who have been explicitly identified in source reports. This figure reflects the minimum number of confirmed victims, that is, 6, and does not necessarily represent the total number of individuals affected by the attack.