Hindu family subjected to threats and harassment by Muslim mob under pretext of land grabbing in Bangladesh amid rising anti-Hindu persecution

Case ID : 30aa017 | Location : Satkhira District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Fri, 14 August, 2026

Case ID : 30aa017

Satkhira District, Bangladesh

14 August, 2026

Hindu family subjected to threats and harassment by Muslim mob under pretext of land grabbing in Bangladesh amid rising anti-Hindu persecution

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Fatepur village, Dakshin Sreepur Union, Kaliganj Upazila, Satkhira, Bangladesh, a Hindu family was threatened and harassed during an attempted land grab. The incident occurred on Saturday, 15 August 2026. Late at night, a mob of approximately 80 to 90 Muslims entered land belonging to the Hindu victims, Basudeb Rajak and Rina Rani Rajak. The mob was led by a Muslim man named Dafadar Saiful Islam and was armed with domestic weapons. After entering the property, the group began altering its boundaries During the attempted land grab, the mob cut down fruit-bearing and timber trees on the property, causing significant damage. When the Hindu family resisted the occupation, the attackers confined the family members to their home and threatened to kill them if they protested against the attempted seizure of their land. Following the incident, the victim family filed two separate written complaints at Kaliganj Police Station. Saiful Islam and Ajibar Rahman admitted to attempting to take possession of the land while claiming that they were the owners of the property. The attempted land grab left members of the Hindu family living in severe insecurity and panic. They feared for their safety because of threats from influential quarters. Although attempts were made to resolve the matter locally, the family continued to face serious concerns regarding their security. At the time of writing this report, the Kaliganj Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mohammad Shahidul Islam Hawlader stated that the police were investigating the complaints and that legal action would be taken based on the findings. The incident occurred against the backdrop of continuing violence and insecurity faced by Hindus in Bangladesh, where members of the Hindu minority have repeatedly been subjected to attacks, killings, intimidation, vandalism of temples, land-grabbing, and targeted violence. The murder of a Hindu woman while she was engaged in a religious act heightened concerns among members of the minority community regarding the safety of their religious practices and freedom of worship. 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 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 ?

The primary category selected for this case is: Attack not resulting in death. The subcategory selected for this case 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 Satkhira, Bangladesh, was targeted and harassed in connection with an attempt to encroach upon their land by Muslims. In the prevailing environment of anti-Hindu hostility in Bangladesh, this incident aligns with the wider pattern of violence and targeting faced by vulnerable Hindu minorities. While some may argue that the case details do not explicitly state a religious motive, the broader context of anti‑Hindu persecution in Bangladesh remains relevant for classification. During periods of sustained violence against Hindus based on religious identity, the Hinduphobia Tracker applies a contextual presumption that attacks on Hindu victims are likely faith‑targeted, even when the immediate report does not record a specific religious marker. In such periods, the normalisation of religious hostility and the dehumanisation of minorities can contribute to crimes against them without perpetrators openly stating a motive. For the purpose of documenting the 2024 to 2026 ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh and the subsequent persecution after 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. Although this case appears on the surface to involve harassment in connection with a land-grabbing or land-encroachment dispute, it is important to view it within the broader context of the persecution and vulnerability faced by Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. Hindu families have repeatedly been targeted by Muslims under the pretext of ostensibly non-religious disputes and criminal activities, including land grabbing, property disputes, harassment, robbery and other local conflicts. Such pretexts are routinely exploited to target Hindus because of their religious identity and vulnerable minority status. This pattern has become particularly concerning amid the heightened persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh following Sheikh Hasina's ouster, with Hindus increasingly being targeted under ostensibly non-religious pretexts. In the present case, repeated attempts to encroach upon the family's land, despite their approach to the authorities, left them living in fear and insecurity. In light of this broader pattern, the case is considered likely to involve religiously motivated targeting under the pretext of a land dispute. The fact that a large Muslim mob was mobilised to target and harass the Hindu family further highlights the deep-seated vulnerability of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh. The mobilisation of approximately 80 to 90 people over a land-related dispute showcases the disproportionate nature of the response and reflects the extent to which Hindu families can be subjected to collective intimidation and mob action under ostensibly non-religious pretexts. This disproportionate targeting, when viewed within the broader pattern of anti-Hindu hostility in Bangladesh, raises concerns about possible religious motivation behind the incident. Accordingly, this case is being included in the Hinduphobia Tracker's hate crime database, while the classification remains open to correction if new information emerges in the future.