Hindu devotee couple face violence, loot and displacement amid large scale persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh

Case ID : 59548b7 | Location : Bogra District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Sun, 4 August, 2024
Case ID : 59548b7
location Bogra District, Bangladesh
date 4 August, 2024
Hindu devotee couple face violence, loot and displacement amid large scale persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh
Attack not resulting in death
Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

Pushparani Kirtaniya, along with her husband Ananta Chandra Das, makes a living by performing devotional songs. They live with their extended family in Pirgacha village, Bogura District. She and her group of singers and musicians travel across Bangladesh in their car to perform. On August 5th, between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m., their house was attacked by a mob of extremist Muslims. The attackers forcibly entered by breaking the doors to the living room, kitchen, and bathroom, looting approximately 5 bharis (58 grams) of gold and 5-6 lakh taka in cash. They vandalized household items, damaged the shutters of their garage, and vandalized their Harris vehicle. Miraculously, the musical instruments inside the vehicle remained unharmed, which Pushparani attributes to Shree Hari’s will for her to continue singing. However, parts of the tin roof were damaged, causing rainwater to leak into the house. Pushparani and her husband managed to escape before the mob could surround them. During the attack, at least two of their relatives were hit on the head with bricks, while the assailants demanded to know their whereabouts, saying, “Where is Ananta? Where is his wife? Tell them to come out quickly. We all want to play with her.” Pushparani had to spend several hours hiding in nearby marshes, waist-deep in mud, while her husband, who suffers from diabetes, is now forced to move from place to place to protect himself. His deteriorating health, marked by chest pain and high blood pressure, has made it too dangerous for him to return home. Repeated attempts to contact helpline numbers went unanswered, and despite several hours of trying, the lines remained engaged. Army personnel claimed to be unaware of the attacks on their village, even though at least 20 Hindu families in the area were targeted. In the past, during 2014-15, extremist Muslims had attempted to disrupt their performances on at least two occasions. One such incident occurred in the Bashail Upazila of Tangail District, where an angry extremist mob insulted them and forced them off the stage. In another instance, in Lahiri Mohanpur of Sirajganj, an extremist climbed onto the stage and threw away a microphone during their performance.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the Hinduphobia tracker under the prime category of- Attack not resulting in death and within this, the sub-category selected 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 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. When there is an ongoing ethnic cleansing based on religious identity, every crime in and of itself is assumed to be motivated by the same religious animosity even if there is a lack of specific religious marker in the immediate crime. During an ongoing ethnic cleansing, the dehumanisation of people based on their religious identity and the normalisation of religious hostility drives the crimes committed against them even when there is a lack of stated religious motive. For the purpose of documenting the 2024 ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh, the Hinduphobia Tracker is assuming religious motivation ab initio. If a case is specifically and beyond reasonable doubt proven to be driven by motivations other than religious hostility, it will post-facto be removed from the hate crime database.

Victim Details

Total Victim

4

Deceased

0


Gender

  • Male 1
  • Female 1
  • Third Gender 0
  • Unknown 2

Caste

  • SC/ST 0
  • OBC 0
  • General 4
  • Unknown 0

Age Group

  • Minor 0
  • Adult 4
  • Senior Citizen 0
  • Unknown 0
Case Status Background
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Case Status


Complaint not filed

Case Status Background
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Perpetrators Details

Perpetrators


Muslim Extremists

Perpetrators Range


Unknown

Perpetrators Gender


unknown

Case Details SVG
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