Saraswati Puja mandap attacked by Islamists in Rajshahi, Bangladesh
Rajshahi District, Bangladesh 
3 February, 2025
Case Summary
A Saraswati Puja Mandap in Fudki Para, Rajshahi, was attacked by a group of Islamists. The attackers vandalised the pandal and sound system before fleeing the scene. Following the attack, Hindus gathered outside Boalia Model Police Station late at night, demanding the arrest of those responsible. Ashok Kumar Saha, General Secretary of the Hindu Buddhist Welfare Front in Rajshahi, filed a written complaint listing ten attackers. The complaint mentioned their names and neighbourhoods. During the attack, a person streamed the incident live on Facebook, asserting that the assailants were associated with a political party. The complaint stated that the Saraswati Puja was organised at Mannujan School by Saptswati and Ashirbad Sangha. That night, young participants were dancing to music when a group of outsiders joined them. At one point, the outsiders suddenly launched an attack with sticks, damaging the pandal and sound equipment. They also physically assaulted some women. When local residents and patrol police arrived, the attackers fled, hurling abuse and issuing death threats. Boalia Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Mehedi Masud stated that the idol was not damaged and that the police had been present in the morning for the immersion. He confirmed that an investigation was underway and assured that legal action would follow based on the findings.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This incident is a clear example of a religiously motivated hate crime, driven by intolerance towards expressions of Hindu faith. Based on case details, it has been added under three categories of the tracker. The first is- Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within this, the first sub-category selected is- Violence against religious structures and centres. In Hinduism, a religious structure is also considered divine. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the religious structure itself is sacred. In this sub-category, we would document attacks against religious structures which are not consecrated temple spaces. Such religious spaces could be temporary in nature – for example – the religious spaces erected specifically for festivals like Durga Puja etc. This category would also document cases of attacks against religious centres. These spaces in their own right may not be ‘sacred’ per se, however, are often spaces where religious gurus live, religious teaching is imparted, or belong to religious institutions. Any attack against religious structures is a result of animosity towards the religion itself, which manifests itself through the religious spaces and therefore, such attacks are considered religiously motivated hate crimes. Religious centres are also manifestations of the religion, its teachings or gurus and therefore, attacks against such centres would be considered religiously motivated hate crimes. The second category under which this case has been placed is- Attack not resulting in death and within this, the sub-category selected is- Attack against Hindu devotees. Hindu devotees are a few of the easiest targets of religiously motivated hate crimes because during the festival/procession/puja etc, for non-Hindus it is easy to profile their victims on the basis of religion. Hindu devotees come under attack on several occasions by individual non-Hindus or mobs of non-Hindus owing to their animosity against Hinduism, its symbols and tradition/practices. There are several instances of Hindu devotees being attacked while they worship in temples or temporary religious structures, during religious processions, doing bhajan/kirtan/puja in their own homes, in the residential society etc. These attacks are perpetrated by non-Hindus primarily because of their animosity towards Hindus and their faith. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, there are two elements that make these hate crimes. First, the Hindus who come under attack are attacked violently while indulging in religious activity. Whether they are in a place of worship or not is immaterial to the crime. When individuals are attacked while indulging in religious practices, the attack in itself is a hindrance to their freedom to practice religion and therefore constitutes a hate crime. Secondly, religious supremacist doctrines and ideologies deem religious practices of Hindus to be offensive ab initio since they are considered “sinful” by these ideologies, worthy to be annihilated by force or coercion. Driven by these religious supremacist ideologies and doctrines, the attacks against Hindu devotees stem from intrinsic animosity towards Hinduism. In some cases, the trigger for the violence may be non-religious, however, it develops into a religiously motivated crime during the course of the violence. Since these attacks stem from animosity towards Hindus and Hinduism, they are considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. The third category selected here is- Hate speech against Hindus. Under this, the sub-category selected is- Violent threats. Violent threats, explicit, implicit or implied, is the most dangerous form of hate speech since it goes beyond discriminatory and prejudicial language to express the intent of causing harm to an individual or a group of people based on their religious identity and faith. There could be several different kinds of threats that are issued to Hindus based on religious animosity. An explicit threat would mean the direct threat of violence towards an individual Hindu, a group of Hindus or Hindus at large. Physical violence, death threats, threats of destruction of property belonging to Hindus and threats of genocide would mean explicit threats against Hindus for their religious identity. Implicit threats may not be a direct threat but implied through the use of symbols of actions – for example – in the Nupur Sharma case, other than explicit threats, there were also implicit threats when Islamists took to the streets to burn and beat her effigies. It implies that they want to do the same to Nupur Sharma – thereby is considered an implicit threat. Violent threats can be delivered in person, through letters, phone calls, graffiti, or increasingly through social media and other online platforms. It would be important to understand that a threat – explicit or implicit, online or offline – to an individual who happens to be a Hindu does not qualify as a religiously motivated threat. Such a threat, while vile and dangerous, could be owing to non-religious reasons and/or personal animosity. To qualify as a religiously motivated threat, it would need to exhibit an indication that the individual is being targeted for religious reasons and/or owing to his/her religious identity as a Hindu. The targeted attack on a Hindu religious structure during Saraswati Puja is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of aggression against Hindus in Bangladesh. The vandalism of the pandal and sound system was an attempt to intimidate Hindus and suppress their religious expression. The fact that women were physically assaulted, and the attackers hurled verbal abuse and death threats before fleeing, highlights the deliberate targeting of Hindus. This attack reflects not just a random act of violence, but a calculated attempt to provoke Hindus by attacking the symbols, places, and expressions of Hindu devotion. Such attacks are a form of symbolic aggression against the Hindu community that stems from an innate hatred for Hinduism. Given that the fundamental motivation behind these actions is contempt for Hindus and their religion, this instance has been added to the tracker under the following category.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
From 5 to 10
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
