Minor Hindu girl abducted by Muslims amidst ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh
Gaibandha District, Bangladesh 
10 November, 2024
Case Summary
A 16-year-old student from Amlagachhi village in Gaibandha was abducted by Muslim youths while on her way to tuition. The kidnappers were identified as Kabir Hossain (27), Shihab (26), and Shahin Mia (26). Her parents addressed a press conference at the Palashbari Press Club on January 24, 2025, appealing for her safe return. The victim was a Class 10 student at Dabir Uddin Girls High School and College. A case was registered at Palashbari Police Station against five individuals involved in the abduction. Nearly three months later, police have arrested only one accused, Shihab, while the victim remained missing. The parents expressed grave concern that their daughter may have been trafficked abroad. In their press conference, they made a heartfelt plea to authorities and the public to help bring the girl home safely. Bangladesh plunged into chaos following the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024. 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 a major crackdown on Hindus.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case was added to the 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. In this case, while the available details do not explicitly indicate a religious motive, the broader context cannot be ignored. 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 a 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 drive 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 a 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
1
Deceased
0
Gender
- Male 0
- Female 1
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 1
- Adult 0
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 2 To 5
Perpetrators Gender
male
Sources 
