Hindu college student ends life after harassment by two Muslim youths in Bangladesh

Case ID : 90a0722 | Location : Patuakhali District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Sun, 2 February, 2025

Case ID : 90a0722

Patuakhali District, Bangladesh

2 February, 2025

Hindu college student ends life after harassment by two Muslim youths in Bangladesh

Attack resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Case Summary

A Hindu girl student committed suicide following harassment and humiliation from two Muslim youths in Patuakhali, Bangladesh. The incident occurred on the night of February 3, 2025, at her home in Ward No. 1 of Daspara Union, Bauphal Upazila. The victim, 20-year-old Iti Das, was a first-year honours student at Barisal Government Hatem Ali College. She had returned home for the Saraswati Puja holiday. On the day of the incident, she went out with a friend to a restaurant near the public field around noon. There, two youths, identified as Hridoy and Raihan, the sons of a local Jatiya Party leader, began harassing and taunting her. Feeling unsafe, Iti and her friend called the police at 999 instead of informing their families. SI Shaheen from Bauphal Police Station arrived and took them to the police station. They were released after a short time. Deeply disturbed by the incident, Iti returned home around 4:30 PM and went straight to her room on the second floor. She did not come down after that. Later that evening, her family called her for dinner, but she did not respond. Her mother went upstairs and found her hanging. She was rushed to the hospital, where doctors declared her dead. Her cousin, Sanjay Das, stated that Iti took her life because she could not endure the mental torture and humiliation. He demanded a proper investigation and strict punishment for those responsible. Officer-in-Charge Kamal Hossain of Bauphal Police Station confirmed that the body had been sent to Patuakhali for an autopsy. The police arrested the two accused.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been categorised under the 'Undecided' database in the Hinduphobia Tracker, as there is currently no conclusive evidence establishing that the harassment suffered by the victim was motivated by religious hostility. According to the available information, the Hindu student was subjected to harassment and humiliation by two Muslim youths, following which she died by suicide. However, the reports presently available do not indicate that the accused made any remarks targeting her Hindu identity or that the harassment was explicitly linked to her religion. Nevertheless, the incident cannot be viewed entirely in isolation from the broader environment in which it occurred. The victim belonged to Bangladesh's Hindu minority, a community that has faced sustained persecution, discrimination, and targeted violence over several decades. The vulnerability of the Hindu community has become even more pronounced since the ouster of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on 5 August 2024, following which numerous incidents involving assaults, murders, sexual violence, forced conversions, attacks on temples, land grabbing, and intimidation of Hindus have been documented across Bangladesh. In this context, it remains possible that the victim's religious identity influenced the accused's conduct. Equally, it is also possible that the harassment arose from personal misconduct unrelated to the victim's religion. The information currently available is insufficient to conclusively establish whether the victim was targeted because she was Hindu or whether religion played any role in the incident. Therefore, in the absence of clear evidence demonstrating a religious motive, this case has, for the present, been placed in the 'Undecided' category. If further evidence emerges showing that the victim's Hindu identity influenced the harassment she faced, or that the accused targeted her because of her religion, the classification will be reviewed and the incident will be moved to the hate crime database accordingly.