Hindu devotees and Rath Yatra targeted: Muslim man threatens to bomb traditional procession in Bangladesh
Bangladesh 
15 July, 2026
Case Summary
In Bangladesh, a Muslim man issued threats on social media against the annual Hindu Rath Yatra, calling for the procession to be attacked with explosives and urging violence against Hindu devotees participating in the festival. Through his post, he incited others to target the religious procession, disrupt the celebrations, and create disorder during the event. The message amounted to a direct threat against the Rath Yatra and encouraged collective violence against Hindus exercising their right to peacefully observe one of their most significant religious festivals. As per the report, a viral screenshot circulated on social media by an Islamist, Ataur Rahman Bikrampuri, who is a known extremist and was released from prison. In the message, the accused called for creating chaos during the Rath Yatra and advocated the use of explosives against the procession. He further encouraged attacks on participants and urged others to take part in the violence. The circulation of the message triggered widespread concern regarding the safety of devotees expected to participate in the festival. Several Hindus urged the administration to strengthen security arrangements for the forthcoming Rath Yatra to ensure devotees' safety. They emphasised that any threat of violence directed at a religious festival required immediate attention while also calling for a thorough investigation to prevent misinformation and avoid unnecessary panic. Security experts similarly stressed that threats of violence against religious gatherings must be treated with the utmost seriousness. They called upon the authorities to identify the source of the viral message and proceed against those responsible in accordance with the law while ensuring comprehensive security arrangements for the Rath Yatra and its participants. At the time of writing the report, the law enforcement agencies had not issued any official statement regarding the matter. The present threat also formed part of a continuing pattern of organised hostility directed against Hindu religious practices and symbols in Bangladesh. In the months preceding the Rath Yatra, the Hinduphobia Tracker documented a sustained campaign against the construction of the 82-foot idol of Bhagwan Shri Ram and the Sanatan Complex at the Shri Shri Radha Govinda and Kali Temple in Palashbari. In earlier incidents linked to the same controversy, radical Islamist figures publicly called for the desecration and demolition of the under-construction idol of Bhagwan Shri Ram and the temple complex itself. The present call to attack the Rath Yatra, therefore, represented a continuation of this broader campaign directed against Hindu places of worship, Hindu religious symbols, and the public manifestation of the Hindu faith. The events occurred against the backdrop of escalating hostility towards Hindus in Bangladesh. This escalation of anti-Hindu violence 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 in 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 Hindu localities. 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 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 specifically targeting Hindu neighbourhoods, properties, temples, and religious symbols. Among the victims was Dipu Chandra Das, who was lynched to death and whose 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. Alongside incidents of arson, vandalism, assault, intimidation, organised anti-Hindu mobilisation, and threats against Hindu religious processions and places of worship, these developments contributed to a climate of increasing insecurity for the Hindu minority. The third phase of violence emerged after the 13th National Parliamentary Election in 2026. Within days of the announcement of the 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 for this case is: Hate speech against Hindus. The subcategory for this case is: Violent Threats. Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, are the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be direct threats but implied through the use of symbols or actions – for example, in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby, it is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. This case was added to the Hinduphobia Tracker because an open call was made to carry out violence against the Hindu Rath Yatra and its participants solely because it was a Hindu religious procession. The threats did not target any individual over a personal dispute but were directed at a sacred Hindu festival and the devotees participating in it. By calling for violence against a religious event, the message sought to intimidate Hindus and prevent them from freely practising and publicly expressing their faith. The Rath Yatra holds profound religious significance in Hinduism as a sacred procession in which devotees publicly worship and accompany the deity with devotion and reverence. It is not merely a cultural gathering but an important act of collective religious observance. Consequently, calls to attack the procession, harm devotees, and disrupt the festival directly targeted a central expression of Hindu religious life. Such threats were aimed at creating fear among Hindus so that they would feel unsafe participating in their own religious celebrations. Furthermore, the threats went beyond inflammatory rhetoric and amounted to a direct incitement to violence. The message called for attacks on the procession, encouraged the use of explosives, and urged others to participate in acts of violence. The deliberate use of social media to circulate these threats demonstrated an attempt to maximise their reach, spread fear among the Hindu community, and mobilise like-minded individuals against a Hindu religious gathering. The objective was not merely to express hostility but to intimidate Hindus through the fear of imminent violence. The incident also did not occur in isolation. It followed a series of organised campaigns directed against Hindu religious symbols and practices in Bangladesh, including public opposition to the construction of the Bhagwan Shri Ram temple and idol, demands for their demolition, and repeated calls by Islamist figures to desecrate Hindu religious representations. Viewed against this backdrop, the threats against the Rath Yatra formed part of a continuing pattern of hostility towards the public manifestation of the Hindu faith rather than an isolated outburst. Taken together, the conduct revealed a deliberate attempt to deter Hindus from exercising their religious rights by threatening violence against one of their most sacred festivals. By specifically targeting a Hindu religious procession and encouraging attacks on its participants, the perpetrator displayed clear hostility towards Hinduism and sought to create fear within the Hindu community because of its religious identity. For these reasons, the incident constituted a religiously motivated hate crime and warranted inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker.
Case Status
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
