Hindu businessman brutally assaulted; his shop vandalised and looted by a Muslim mob over over false sexual assault charges in Bangladesh

Case ID : 30aab46 | Location : Sylhet District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Thu, 1 October, 2026

Case ID : 30aab46

Sylhet District, Bangladesh

1 October, 2026

Hindu businessman brutally assaulted; his shop vandalised and looted by a Muslim mob over over false sexual assault charges in Bangladesh

Undecided cases

Attacks against Hindus in Muslim majority nations

Case Summary

In the Shibganj Senpara area of Sylhet city, Sylhet district, Bangladesh, a Hindu businessman named Khagendra Chandra Das was brutally assaulted by a mob. They vandalised his shop, looted cash and a mobile phone after falsely accusing him of sexually assaulting a child. The attack left Khagendra seriously injured and hospitalised. His family stated that the allegations were false and that the attackers deliberately targeted him and his business. According to the Hindus report, the attack occurred on Friday night, 02 October, 2026, during the Eid holidays. A few individuals initially went to Khagendra's shop, Rani Store, and created a disturbance. They subsequently brought more people to the shop, assaulted Khagendra, vandalised the premises and looted approximately three lakh taka and a mobile phone. Following the attack, Khagendra's son, Rubel Das, filed a case at Shahparan police station against 21 people. Rubel stated that the attackers first created a disturbance at his father's shop before assaulting him and ransacking the premises. The victim sustained serious injuries in the assault and was admitted to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital for treatment. He stated that the incident began after the victim asked a child to move away from a refrigerator in his shop. He said the child's mother subsequently arrived and complained, following which a group of people attacked the shop. He further stated that the shop's CCTV cameras had recorded the entire incident and that examination of the footage would establish what had actually occurred. Sylhet Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner (North and Media), Mohammad Saiful Islam, stated that the CCTV footage did not show any evidence of sexual harassment and that the attack had been carried out after rumours were spread and a mob was formed. He further stated that information gathered from multiple sources indicated that the attack was connected to the non-delivery of goods and that the matter was being seriously investigated. Police subsequently arrested five people in connection with the incident. The Deputy Commissioner stated that a case had been filed against 13 people, including seven to eight unidentified individuals, and that efforts were underway to arrest the remaining accused. He warned that strict action would be taken against those who took the law into their own hands by forming a mob. Following the assault, leaders of the Sylhet District and Metropolitan Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and the Puja Udjawan Parishad, along with Sylhet Metropolitan BNP General Secretary Imdad Hossain Chowdhury, visited Khagendra at the hospital. They described the incident as planned mob violence and demanded a fair investigation, verification of the CCTV footage, and the prompt arrest and exemplary punishment of those responsible. 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 the ouster of Sheikh Hasina and 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 ?

This case has been placed under the ‘Undecided’ category in the Hinduphobia Tracker because, although a false allegation was used as the immediate basis for the attack on Hindu businessman Khagendra Chandra Das, there is no conclusive evidence establishing that he was targeted because of his Hindu identity. The Hinduphobia Tracker has recorded umpteen incidents in Bangladesh in which false allegations against Hindus, particularly false allegations of blasphemy or other fabricated accusations, have served as the first step before Hindus are subjected to mob attacks, assault or killing. For instance, Dipu Chandra Das was lynched and his body burnt after false allegations of blasphemy were made against him. Similarly, Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna Das was arrested on blasphemy-related allegations, which were subsequently found to be false by the court. These cases demonstrate how fabricated allegations can be used to mobilise hostility against Hindus and facilitate attacks against them. A similar pattern was present in this incident, where a false allegation of sexual harassment was made against Khagendra before a mob was formed and he was assaulted, his shop vandalised and his property looted. However, unlike cases where evidence establishes a religious motive through statements or testimonies, no such evidence was available in this incident. The victim here did not state that he was attacked because he was a Hindu, nor did any identified perpetrator express hostility towards his Hindu identity or provide any other indication that his religion was the reason for the attack. The police investigation also did not establish a religious motive. Therefore, while the use of a false allegation followed by mob violence is a pattern that has been documented in attacks against Hindus in Bangladesh, the available evidence in this particular case does not establish that the false allegation was used as a pretext to target Khagendra specifically because he was a Hindu. Without a statement from the victim, witness testimony, evidence of religious hostility by the perpetrators, or other material establishing a religious motive, the case has been retained under the ‘Undecided’ category. Should further evidence emerge demonstrating that Khagendra was targeted because of his Hindu identity, the case can be reassessed accordingly. Disclaimer: The perpetrator count was kept at 21, based on the complaint filed by Khagendra Chandra Das’s son, Rubel Das, which named 21 individuals in connection with the attack, including the initial aggressor and the woman who made the false complaint.