Hindu temple vandalised and looted by miscreants amidst rising attacks on Hindu places of worship in Bangladesh
Sylhet District, Bangladesh 
10 August, 2026
Case Summary
In the Khand village in Chiknagul Union, Sylhet, Bangladesh, a Hindu temple was vandalised and looted by unknown miscreants amidst rising attacks on Hindu places of worship. The incident occurred on 11 August 2026, when unknown miscreants broke the lock of the steel door of the worship room at the Sri Sri Rameshwar Shiva Temple and carried out a theft. The stolen items included gold and silver ornaments used in the worship of Lord Shiva, brass idols, bronze utensils and cash. According to temple priest Rajan Debnath, the thieves took a silver Ganga weighing approximately 4 bhari, a silver crescent placed on top of Mahadev's head weighing 3 bhari, a gold snake and seven bel leaves weighing around 12 bhari, four silver necklaces weighing about 4 bhari, seven gold basil leaves weighing approximately 7 annas, four brass idols, 10 bronze glasses, 10 bronze utensils and Tk 50,000 in cash. The total value of the stolen property was estimated at around Tk 3 million (Tk 30 lakh). The theft resulted in the loss of religious objects that had been part of the temple's worship practices and traditions for decades. Priest Rajan Debnath stated that the incident had erased 30 years of the temple's history, traditions and memories overnight. Following the discovery of the theft, police from Jaintapur Model Police Station inspected the temple. Leaders of the Jaintapur Upazila Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and Puja Celebration Council also visited the site and expressed concern over the theft, particularly as the temple was located at the residence of Babu Dhirendra Debnath Dhiru, vice-president of the local Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and Puja Celebration Council committee. They called for the perpetrators to be identified and brought to justice. Officer-in-Charge Mahbubur Rahman Molla confirmed that police had inspected the scene and said that legal action would follow upon receipt of the complaint. The escalation of violence against Hindus and their places of worship 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 has been added to the tracker under the primary category: Attack on Hindu religious representations. The sub-category 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 themselves 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. The other sub-category selected here is - Desecration of Hindu religious symbols. 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. This case constitutes a religiously motivated hate crime because the Sri Sri Rameshwar Shiva Temple in Khand village was deliberately vandalised and targeted for theft, with the perpetrators breaking into the temple's worship room and stealing sacred Hindu religious objects, including silver and gold ornaments associated with the worship of Lord Shiva, brass idols and other items used in religious practices. The attack was therefore directed not merely at a building or its material possessions but at a Hindu place of worship and objects integral to its religious observance. In Hinduism, temples are sacred spaces dedicated to the worship of deities, while objects such as idols and ritual ornaments are treated with religious reverence and form an important part of worship. The stolen silver Ganga, silver crescent placed on Mahadev's head, gold snake, bel leaves, basil leaves and brass idols were not ordinary valuables but objects associated with the religious representation and worship of Lord Shiva. Their removal from the temple therefore disrupted established religious practices and deprived devotees of sacred objects that had been used in worship. The religious significance of the theft was further demonstrated by the nature and location of the items taken. The perpetrators entered the temple's worship room after breaking its lock and specifically removed objects that formed part of the temple's religious and ritual environment, alongside cash and other valuables. The incident consequently affected both the material security and the sanctity of a Hindu place of worship. The incident also occurred within the wider context of repeated attacks and thefts targeting Hindu temples, idols and religious property in Bangladesh. In this context, the deliberate intrusion into a Hindu temple and removal of sacred religious objects contributed to concerns among the local Hindu community regarding the security of their places of worship and religious possessions. At the time of writing this report, the identities and motives of the perpetrators had not been established. However, the absence of identified perpetrators or an explicitly stated motive does not diminish the religious significance of the offence. The perpetrators deliberately entered a Hindu temple and removed multiple sacred objects associated with Hindu worship, making the incident an attack on a Hindu place of worship and its religious representations.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
