Hindu temple in Jessore targeted for loot by miscreants amidst continuing wave of anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh
Jessore District, Bangladesh 
3 July, 2026
Case Summary
In the Bora Bazar area of Jessore, Bangladesh, a Hindu temple, the traditional Siddheshwari Kali Temple, was targeted for theft by a few unidentified miscreants. The accused broke into the temple premises and stole cash kept inside three donation boxes. According to the temple authorities, the miscreants entered the temple through the roof sometime between 12:15 am on 4 July 2026 and 5:00 am on 5 July 2026. After gaining entry, they disconnected one CCTV camera and changed the direction of another to avoid being recorded. They then broke open three donation boxes and fled with the cash kept inside. The amount stolen was estimated to be between 40,000 and 45,000 Bangladeshi taka. The temple authorities stated that the three donation boxes are opened only once every year during the autumn Durga Puja festival. During that annual opening, offerings amounting to approximately 5 million Bangladeshi taka are typically collected from the three donation boxes. Following the incident, Inspector Amanullah, Officer-in-Charge of the Jessore Sadar Police Outpost, stated that, after receiving information about the theft, Additional Superintendent of Police of Jessore Police, K Circle, Ahsan Habib, visited the temple and directed that legal action be initiated. He further stated that police personnel were searching the crime scene and the surrounding area 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 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 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. Such incidents underscored 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 suggested 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 has been added to the tracker under the primary category - Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within this, the 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. In this case, a Hindu temple in Jessore, Bangladesh, was targeted by unidentified miscreants who unlawfully entered the temple premises, broke open three donation boxes, and stole the cash kept inside. The attack was directed against a Hindu place of worship during a period when Hindu temples and religious institutions across Bangladesh continued to face repeated incidents of vandalism, theft, desecration, and intimidation. The burglary affected not only the temple's financial resources but also a religious institution sustained through the voluntary offerings of Hindu devotees. The primary religious marker in this case was the targeting of a Hindu temple and, more specifically, the theft of money offered by devotees as religious donations. Hindu temples are sacred spaces where devotees perform daily worship, celebrate festivals, preserve religious traditions, and express their devotion through offerings made to the presiding deity. The Siddheshwari Kali Temple is dedicated to Goddess Kali, one of the most revered deities in Hinduism, worshipped as the embodiment of divine power and the destroyer of evil. Donations placed in temple donation boxes are acts of religious devotion offered by worshippers to support the temple's maintenance, rituals, charitable activities, and religious functions. By forcibly entering the temple and breaking open the donation boxes, the perpetrators targeted funds that had been voluntarily offered as part of Hindu religious practice. In a country where Hindus constitute a vulnerable religious minority and where Hindu temples have repeatedly been subjected to attacks, desecration, and theft, the deliberate targeting of temple donations carried significance beyond ordinary theft and reflected the continuing insecurity faced by Hindu religious institutions. The selection of a Hindu temple as the target ensured that the consequences of the crime extended beyond financial loss and directly affected a sacred institution central to the religious life of the local Hindu community. The deliberate manner in which the offence was executed further highlights its seriousness. According to the temple authorities, the perpetrators entered the temple through the roof, disabled one CCTV camera, redirected another camera away from the scene, and only then proceeded to break open the three donation boxes before fleeing with the cash. Such actions demonstrate planning and preparation rather than an opportunistic act of theft. The donation boxes were opened only once every year during the autumn Durga Puja festival, when offerings accumulated throughout the year were counted. Consequently, the stolen money represented the collective religious offerings of countless Hindu devotees made over an extended period as expressions of faith and devotion. The theft therefore directly interfered with resources intended for the functioning and maintenance of a Hindu place of worship. The targeting of the Siddheshwari Kali Temple must also be viewed within the wider environment of anti-Hindu persecution in Bangladesh. During a period marked by repeated attacks on Hindu temples, idol desecration, theft of temple property, vandalism of places of worship, and intimidation of Hindu communities, incidents involving Hindu religious institutions acquire significance beyond their immediate material consequences. Violations of temples belonging to a vulnerable religious minority create fear and insecurity among devotees and reinforce concerns regarding the safety of Hindu places of worship and the free exercise of religious practices. 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 2026 13th National Parliamentary Election, 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 judicial findings to have stemmed from motivations unrelated to religious hostility, it will be revised or removed from the hate crime database. The calculated intrusion into the Siddheshwari Kali Temple, the disabling of the temple's security system, and the theft of money offered by devotees collectively reflected the continuing vulnerability of Hindu religious institutions in Bangladesh. The incident compromised the sanctity and security of a Hindu place of worship and affected a temple sustained by the religious contributions of its devotees. It joins a growing number of documented cases in which Hindu temples have been subjected to attacks affecting their security, sanctity, and uninterrupted functioning during a period of sustained anti-Hindu hostility. Given Bangladesh's sustained anti-Hindu persecution environment, the deliberate targeting of a Hindu temple, the theft of devotees' religious offerings, and the broader pattern of attacks on Hindu places of worship, this case meets the threshold for inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker's hate crime database.
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Perpetrators Details
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