22-year-old Hindu priest lynched to death and body hung from tree amidst ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh

Case ID : 5954ab5 | Location : Brahmanbaria District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Fri, 27 December, 2024

Case ID : 5954ab5

Brahmanbaria District, Bangladesh

27 December, 2024

22-year-old Hindu priest lynched to death and body hung from tree amidst ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh

Attack resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

In Bangladesh’s Brahmanbaria district, 22-year-old Hindu youth Dipal Chakraborty was lynched to death and his body was hung from a tree outside his home in Dubachail village. The incident occurred under the jurisdiction of Nabinagar police station. Dipal, who worked as a priest, was reportedly subjected to insults about his faith and forced to listen to provocative comments from local individuals. When he protested mildly, the situation escalated. A group of individuals attacked and killed him in front of his house while his family members watched in helpless despair. Despite the family filing a specific complaint naming the alleged perpetrators, the police registered the incident as a suicide, reportedly allowing the accused to escape accountability. Local sources alleged a lack of justice for Hindus in Bangladesh, citing ongoing violence against minorities. Details about the incident, however, remain limited due to the lack of media coverage. Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024, Bangladesh plunged into chaos as Islamist extremists took advantage of the political turmoil to unleash a wave of terror and violence against the Hindu community. The Islamist mobs attacked Hindu homes, burned them to the ground, and abducted women in a horrific descent into anarchy. Several temples were destroyed in the area in a major crackdown on Hindus.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

The case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Attack resulting in death, and under 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, cases where the attack led to the death of the Hindu victim/s would be documented. The removal of Sheikh Hasina from power in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, escalated the persecution and marginalisation of the Hindu minority in the predominantly Islamic nation, intensifying what can be described as a silent genocide. Since her ouster, Islamists have carried out unchecked atrocities against Hindus, including physical violence, the destruction of temples and religious symbols, and the systematic displacement of Hindus from their ancestral lands. Over 205 attacks on Hindu temples, shops, and businesses have been recorded following Sheikh Hasina's removal as Prime Minister. Many Hindus have been brutally murdered or injured in these assaults. Following a pattern of attacks on Hindu individuals and religious institutions, ISKCON members have increasingly become targets of aggression in the Muslim-majority nation. These incidents are marked by physical assaults, intimidation, and systemic neglect by authorities, leaving victims without recourse to justice. Amid this, a Hindu priest was lynched to death in the Islamic country. The attack on Dipal Chakraborty was entirely unprovoked, rooted solely in his Hindu identity. The victim endured faith-based insults and provocative comments from local individuals. When he objected to the verbal denigration of his religion, his mild disapproval was met with brutal violence. The perpetrators, driven by religious animosity, escalated their aggression, leading to his tragic death. This incident underscores the systemic targeting of Hindus in Bangladesh and reflects the deep-seated hostility toward their faith, making it a stark example of religiously motivated hate. Moreover, such attacks can be perceived as a larger attack on the entire Hindu community, as the purpose is clearly to send a broader message of hostility towards the community. It is a tactic to intimidate the community; instil fear and disrupt the cohesion and morale of the community. Such attacks are a form of symbolic aggression against the Hindu community that stems from an innate hatred for Hinduism. As a result, this case has been included in the Hinduphobia tracker. It is critical to note that despite this incident being a clear case of religiously motivated hate, the Bangladesh police dismissed the communal angle, labelling the tragedy as a suicide. In fact, it is clearly stated in the report that the perpetrator's insulted the Hindu's priest's faith and forced him to listen to provocative comments about Hinduism and attacked him when he resisted the same. The deceased's family also filed a specific complaint naming the perpetrators, yet the police registered the incident as a suicide. This denial not only undermines the victim's suffering but also highlights the systemic reluctance to acknowledge the targeted violence faced by Hindus in the Islamic nation, thereby perpetuating a lack of accountability and justice for such acts.