Hindu man attacked and robbed by miscreants in Sylhet amidst ongoing persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh

Case ID : 30a92fa | Location : Sylhet, Sylhet District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Fri, 26 June, 2026

Case ID : 30a92fa

Sylhet, Sylhet District, Bangladesh

26 June, 2026

Hindu man attacked and robbed by miscreants in Sylhet amidst ongoing persecution of religious minorities in Bangladesh

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Sylhet, Bangladesh, Dr Lakshmi Narayan Chakraborty, a Hindu man, former doctor at Atgram Government Hospital in Zakiganj Upazila and owner of Najma Pharmacy, as well as a prominent businessman of Kaliganj Bazar, was attacked and robbed by a gang of armed miscreants. The incident occurred around 9 pm on 27 June 2026, when he was returning home after closing his business. On Hazarichowk Road, he was surrounded by armed robbers who held him at gunpoint, attacked him, and looted all his cash and valuables. He somehow managed to escape from the attackers. The attack and robbery targeting such a well-known and respected individual triggered anger and panic among local businessmen and residents. The local community strongly condemned the incident and demanded swift action from Zakiganj Police Station authorities to arrest the perpetrators, bring them to justice, and strengthen security in the area. 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 man, Dr Lakshmi Narayan Chakraborty, was threatened at gunpoint, attacked, and robbed by a group of armed miscreants in Bangladesh. In the prevailing environment of anti-Hindu hostility and insecurity in Bangladesh, the incident aligns with the broader pattern of violence, intimidation, extortion, and targeting faced by vulnerable Hindu minorities. While some may argue that the available details point towards extortion, criminal activity, or local disputes 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, extortion, 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 criminal or financial motives 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 residents because the victim was a well-known and respected member of the area’s business community as well as a Hindu man belonging to a vulnerable religious minority. According to local accounts, Dr Lakshmi Narayan Chakraborty was surrounded by armed robbers while returning home and was held at gunpoint, during which cash and valuables were looted before he managed to escape. The incident must also be viewed within Bangladesh’s broader environment, where Hindu minorities frequently face insecurity, intimidation, robbery, extortion, land-related disputes, and violence. Attacks on Hindus are often attributed to criminal activity or local disputes, thereby obscuring the broader context of vulnerability faced by the community. In many instances, such explanations can shift attention away from the recurring pattern of insecurity experienced by Hindu minorities. The assault on Dr Chakraborty contributed to heightened fear and concern within the local Hindu community, reinforcing the vulnerability regardless of whether the perpetrators explicitly stated a religious motive. Given the prevailing environment of insecurity and repeated incidents affecting vulnerable Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, this case is recorded within the Hate Crime database of the tracker.