Hindu temple land encroached upon by Muslim man belonging to Jamaat-e-Islami in Pirojpur, Bangladesh
Pirojpur District, Bangladesh 
4 August, 2024
Case Summary
In Nesarabad Upazila of Pirojpur, Bangladesh, land belonging to the Dakshinpara Sarbajanin Sheetala temple was encroached upon by a Muslim man named Md. Shafiqul Islam Howlader. The accused was a member of the Islamic extremist group Jamaat-e-Islami. Howlader occupied the temple land and began cultivating paddy there, disrupting the Hindu community's long-standing religious rituals and ceremonies. According to media reports, the encroachment took place after the political exile of Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024. At the time of writing this report, a legal dispute concerning the ownership and possession of the land was pending in court. The temple, located in Samudaykathi Union of Nesarabad Upazila, had 42 acres of land recorded in its name under Dag No. 952 and Khatian No. 130. Sheetala Puja and other Hindu rituals had been performed on the land for decades. The Bangladesh Survey (BS) land records also listed eight partners as holders of the land. The Hindu community members stated that Howlader took possession of the land after 5 August 2024 on the basis of an unregistered mortgage agreement involving one of the eight partners, who was residing in India. He subsequently began cultivating paddy on the property despite the ongoing court case concerning the land's ownership and possession. Manoj Biswas, son of landowner Nani Lal Biswas, stated that the BS records listed eight partners as holders of the land. He said Howlader had filed a case against them on the basis of an unregistered mortgage agreement while continuing to occupy and cultivate the disputed property. Manoj Biswas further stated that his ancestors had worshipped Sheetala on the land for decades and demanded that the property be recovered so that religious worship could resume as before. Suman Aich, a local Union Parishad member, stated that he had witnessed Sheetala Puja being performed on the land since his childhood. He said Howlader had avoided discussions despite being offered the original land documents. Aich stated that such a situation involving land used by the Hindu community for religious purposes was undesirable. Md. Abu Hanif, Samudaykathi Union Jamaat-e-Islami Ameer, confirmed that Shafiqul Islam Howlader served as the Ward No. 1 Jamaat Ameer of Hawlader Union. However, he described the land dispute as Howlader's personal matter and stated that the party would not take responsibility if someone seized land by abusing their position. He also claimed that Jamaat-e-Islami never condoned injustice. Prolay Mondal, member secretary of the Pirojpur district branch of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Welfare Front, stated that members of the organisation had visited Samudaykathi after receiving complaints of land grabbing, vandalism of religious establishments and intimidation of minority communities. He said that although initiatives had been taken to resolve the matter, Howlader had not responded. Mondal demanded that the land dispute be resolved expeditiously through legal proceedings. These attacks against Hindus are happening 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 was added to the Undecided database because the available details did not establish a religious motive behind the crime beyond reasonable doubt. In this incident, although land belonging to a Hindu temple was encroached upon by a Muslim man associated with Jamaat-e-Islami, the available information did not conclusively establish whether the encroachment was motivated by religious hostility towards Hinduism. Nevertheless, several aspects of the incident raised suspicions of a possible religious motive. A Hindu temple is not merely a place of worship but a sacred space where devotees perform religious rituals, offer prayers and maintain their spiritual and cultural traditions. The land belonging to a temple also holds religious significance and is considered sacred because it serves as the foundation for religious activities, rituals and ceremonies associated with the temple. In this case, the encroached land belonged to a nearly 60-year-old Hindu temple where Sheetala Puja and other religious ceremonies had been performed for decades. The act of occupying this land, cultivating paddy on it and thereby disrupting religious activities demonstrated a disregard for the sanctity of the temple and its associated property. Since temple land holds religious significance beyond its material or commercial value, its encroachment and use for non-religious purposes raised questions about possible hostility towards Hindu religious practices and institutions. Furthermore, the incident took place in Bangladesh, a country with a documented history of persecution and violence against its Hindu minority. Hindu communities have faced targeted attacks, their homes and businesses have been vandalised, temples have been desecrated and religious properties have been illegally occupied. Such incidents have, in several documented cases, been driven by religious hostility towards Hinduism and its followers. This broader history of anti-Hindu violence in Bangladesh raised further suspicions about the possible religious motivation behind the encroachment of the temple land in the present case. However, the country's history of anti-Hindu persecution, by itself, could not establish the motive behind this particular incident. The timing of the incident also raised concerns about a possible religious motive. The encroachment took place after 5 August 2024, following the ousting of Sheikh Hasina as Prime Minister of Bangladesh. In the aftermath of her departure, Hindu minorities across the country faced widespread violence, including attacks on their homes and businesses, vandalism of temples, desecration of Hindu idols and other forms of intimidation and persecution. There were also reports of sexual violence against women belonging to minority Hindu communities. Considering this backdrop of widespread attacks against Hindus and Hindu religious institutions, the timing of the encroachment further raised suspicions that the act might have been driven by religious animosity. Another significant factor was the accused's association with Jamaat-e-Islami, an Islamist political organisation with a history of anti-Hindu persecution and communal hostility. The organisation and its members have, on several occasions, been associated with instigating mob attacks and violence against Hindu communities, fuelling communal tensions, and targeting Hindu religious institutions. Its anti-Hindu antecedents have also included incitement of violence against Hindus, attacks on Hindu temples and desecration of Hindu religious idols. This history further heightened suspicions regarding a possible religious motive behind the encroachment in the present case. Nevertheless, the accused's membership of Jamaat-e-Islami, in itself, did not establish that his actions in this particular incident were motivated by religious hostility. Despite these circumstances, it could not be established beyond reasonable doubt that Howlader encroached upon the temple land because of religious hostility towards Hindus or Hinduism. It remained equally plausible that he had occupied the property as a crime of opportunity, primarily for commercial and agricultural purposes. Nevertheless, the encroachment and subsequent cultivation of land belonging to a Hindu temple, where religious ceremonies had been performed for decades, hurt the religious sentiments of the Hindu community and disregarded the sanctity associated with the temple property. However, the available evidence did not sufficiently establish religious hostility as the driving force behind the crime. Consequently, the incident did not meet the evidentiary threshold required for inclusion in the Hinduphobia Tracker's hate crime database. The Hinduphobia Tracker follows strict parameters for classifying incidents as hate crimes, requiring sufficient indications of religious hostility or a religious motive behind the crime. Since the available details in this case did not establish immediate or conclusive religious hostility as the driving force behind the encroachment, the incident remained in the Undecided database. If further information emerges establishing religious hostility as the motive behind the crime, the Hinduphobia Tracker will reassess the case and move it to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: The Hinduphobia Tracker records incident dates based on when the crime occurred rather than when it was reported in the media. Although the incident was reported by the media in October 2026, the reports stated that the perpetrator had encroached upon the temple land shortly after 5 August 2024. Therefore, for documentation purposes, 5 August 2024 has been selected as the indicative incident date.
Case Status
Case sub-judice
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
