Hindu temple targeted, seven idols of Hindu deities vandalised in Bangladesh, just days before Durga Puja festival
Tangail District, Bangladesh 
29 September, 2026
Case Summary
In Jamurki Paschimpara, Mirzapur upazila, Tangail, Bangladesh, seven idols of Hindu deities were vandalised by unidentified miscreants at a Hindu temple. The idols were being prepared for the upcoming Durga Puja festival, which was only days away. The incident took place on the night of September 30, 2026, when unidentified individuals entered the temple and vandalised the idols. The idols were found tilted the following morning. Abdullah Al Mamun, officer-in-charge of Mirzapur Police Station, confirmed that the idols had been found in this condition. According to reports, idols of Lord Ganesha, Goddess Durga and other Hindu deities were being prepared at the temple for the Durga Puja celebrations. Durga Puja had been celebrated at the temple for approximately 85 years under the auspices of the Jamurki Arya Samiti. Preparations for that year's festivities were underway, with seven idols being crafted on the temple premises. Most of the construction work had been completed, with only painting remaining. The incident came to light on the morning of October 1, 2026, when locals noticed the damaged idols, causing a stir in the area. The incident also triggered anger and concern among members of the local Hindu community. Upon receiving information about the incident, Tangail Superintendent of Police Shamsul Alam Sarkar and Assistant Superintendent of Police of the Mirzapur-Nagarpur Circle, Md Adnan Mustafiz, visited the scene. They spoke with the temple authorities and local residents and assured them that those responsible would be identified and brought to justice. Prakash Bakali, president of the Jamurki Arya Samiti, said preparations were underway to lodge a formal complaint with the law enforcement agencies over the vandalism. Abdullah Al Mamun, officer-in-charge of Mirzapur Police Station, said an investigation was underway to identify and arrest those responsible for the vandalism. He added that necessary security measures had also been taken at the temple. This incident occurred against the broader backdrop of the historical persecution faced by Hindus in Bangladesh. While the Hindu minority has endured discrimination, targeted violence, and religious hostility over decades, such persecution has intensified in distinct spurts during periods of political and social instability. The latest major escalation began after the ouster of Sheikh Hasina’s government in August 2024, continued after the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi in December 2025, and resurfaced in the immediate aftermath of the 13th National Parliamentary Election in 2026. Following the ouster of Sheikh Hasina, multiple incidents involving attacks on Hindu homes, temples and religious institutions were documented, alongside intimidation, arson and mob violence targeting Hindu localities. The Hinduphobia Tracker recorded 336 incidents involving the Hindu minority during this period, reflecting the scale of the escalation and the continuing vulnerability of Hindus in Bangladesh. A further spurt of violence followed the death of Sharif Osman Bin Hadi, a Muslim political activist and student leader known for his anti-Hindu and anti-India rhetoric, in December 2025. In the aftermath, Hindu communities were subjected to retaliatory violence, with Hindu homes and properties selectively attacked and several families forced to flee. Among the victims was Dipu Chandra Das, who was lynched and whose body was subsequently 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, further illustrating how existing hostility towards the Hindu minority intensified during moments of communal mobilisation. During the same period, posters and written material calling for the extermination of Hindus were also displayed in public spaces. Such rhetoric, when viewed alongside incidents of arson, vandalism, assault and targeted intimidation, reflected an environment in which hostility towards Hindus was not merely episodic but repeatedly resurfaced in more intense forms during periods of unrest. The most recent escalation followed the 13th National Parliamentary Election in 2026. In the immediate aftermath of the election results, Hindu families in districts including Noakhali, Rangpur, Nilphamari, Sylhet, Thakurgaon and Dinajpur faced attacks involving arson, looting, assault and vandalism of Hindu homes and temples. In several instances, Hindu properties were selectively targeted, and families were threatened with displacement. The present incident therefore occurred within a much longer history of persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh, where hostility towards the community has persisted over time and intensified in repeated spurts. The latest cycle began after Sheikh Hasina's ouster. It continued through subsequent periods of political and communal upheaval, leaving the Hindu minority increasingly vulnerable to targeted violence, intimidation and religious hostility.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
The primary category selected in this case is: Attack on Hindu religious representations. The subcategory selected is: Desecration of Hindu religious symbol. 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. The other 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. This case is an example of a religiously driven hate crime because seven sacred idols of Hindu deities, including Goddess Durga, Lord Ganesha and other deities, were vandalised inside a Hindu temple in Bangladesh just days before the Durga Puja festival. In Hinduism, idols are sacred representations through which devotees establish a tangible focus for worship and offer prayers, rituals and devotion to the deity. They are not merely decorative objects but occupy an important place within Hindu religious practice, with them being treated with reverence and incorporated into the ritual life of a temple. The destruction of such idols therefore carries religious significance because it violates objects regarded as sacred by the Hindu community. Durga Puja is one of the most significant Hindu festivals dedicated to Goddess Durga and commemorates her worship through elaborate rituals, prayers and ceremonial observances. During the festival, specially prepared idols of Goddess Durga, Lord Ganesha and other deities are installed and worshipped as part of the religious celebrations. The preparation, installation and worship of these idols form an integral part of the devotional and ceremonial observance of Durga Puja, making the idols being prepared for the festival religiously significant even before the celebrations formally begin. In this case, the deliberate vandalisation of seven idols of Hindu deities being prepared for worship during Durga Puja demonstrated hostility towards Hindu religious symbols and practices. The fact that multiple sacred representations of Hindu deities were targeted, rather than unrelated or ordinary objects, showed a direct disregard for their religious sanctity and the sentiments attached to them by Hindu devotees. By desecrating idols specifically created for worship during an important Hindu festival, the act constituted a direct affront to Hindu faith and religious practice. The idols were vandalised inside a Hindu temple, further underscoring the religious nature of the act. Hindu temples are sacred spaces dedicated to the worship of deities, where religious rituals, festivals and community observances are conducted and where idols form an integral part of the sacred environment. An attack on religious objects within such a space therefore affects not only the objects themselves but also the sanctity and religious character of the temple in which they are housed. In this case, the temple had hosted Durga Puja for approximately 85 years under the auspices of the Jamurki Arya Samiti, making the festival and its associated rituals an established part of the temple's religious tradition. The vandalisation of the idols within this longstanding place of worship consequently constituted an intrusion into and disruption of an established Hindu religious practice, further demonstrating hostility towards the temple, its religious traditions and the Hindu community that worshipped there. The fact that the vandalism occurred just days before Durga Puja further heightened its religious significance. As the idols were being prepared specifically for the upcoming festival, their destruction disrupted preparations for a major Hindu religious observance and interfered with its intended rituals. Carrying out the attack immediately before the celebrations also undermined the sanctity of the occasion and created fear and insecurity within the Hindu community at a particularly significant time, demonstrating hostility towards Hindu religious celebrations. Notably, the fact that this incident occurred in a Muslim-majority country like Bangladesh further underscores the seriousness of the crime. Bangladesh has a long history of hostility and persecution targeting its Hindu minority, with Hindu temples, homes, religious sites and communities repeatedly facing attacks, vandalism, looting and other forms of religiously motivated violence over the decades. This hostility intensified further following the political upheaval and Sheikh Hasina’s departure from the country in August 2024, after which Hindu temples and homes were targeted, properties were looted and vandalised, and Hindu communities faced attacks in different parts of the country. The repeated targeting and desecration of Hindu religious symbols and places of worship in this broader context indicates that such incidents do not occur in isolation, but form part of a wider pattern of anti-Hindu hostility in Bangladesh. In this case, at the time of documentation, although the identities of the perpetrators remained unknown, the act they committed clearly demonstrated hostility towards Hinduism and the Hindu community. Therefore, this case was documented in the Hinduphobia Tracker's hate crime database.
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