Hindu man's dead body found in a lake in Bangladesh's Gopalganj

Case ID : 90a07c1 | Location : Gopalganj District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Fri, 7 February, 2025

Case ID : 90a07c1

Gopalganj District, Bangladesh

7 February, 2025

Hindu man's dead body found in a lake in Bangladesh's Gopalganj

Undecided cases

Murder of Hindus in Muslim majority nations

Case Summary

Amidst the large-scale ethnic cleansing of Hindu minorities in Bangladesh, a Hindu fish trader named Bipul Mondol went missing. Only his clothes were found and his family members suspected that he was murdered and buried somewhere. Later, his dead body was found in a canal in Gopalganj. Initially, it was believed that they died by falling from the boat. According to reports, Bipul went missing on 8th February 2025. His neighbours and family members began to search for Bipul. On 9th February 2025, the locals found a flashlight, mobile phone, wet clothes and a boat which belonged to Bipul. Finally, on 10th February, his dead body was found in a canal in Kopalipara Upazila in Gopalganj. Following a ‘preliminary investigation’, the police claimed that Bipul Mondal died from drowning after falling from his boat. Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024, Bangladesh has plunged into chaos as Islamist extremists have taken advantage of the political turmoil to unleash a wave of terror and violence against the Hindu community. The Islamist mobs have attacked Hindu homes, burned them to the ground, and abducted women in a horrific descent into anarchy. Several temples have been destroyed in various parts of the Islamic country in a major crackdown on Hindus. Further, the arrest of Hindu priests has exacerbated the situation, with Hindu minorities protesting across Bangladesh, seeking justice.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024, Bangladesh has plunged into chaos as Islamist extremists have taken advantage of the political turmoil to unleash a wave of terror and violence against the Hindu community. The Islamist mobs have attacked Hindu homes, burned them to the ground, and abducted women in a horrific descent into anarchy. Several temples have been destroyed in various parts of the Islamic country in a major crackdown on Hindus. Further, the arrest of three Hindu priests, attempts to ban the Hindu organisation ISKCON and stifling Hindu protests with cases of ‘sedition’ highlight systematic persecution under the interim government of Muhammad Yunus. There have been multiple instances of attacks on Hindus under the pretext of ‘blasphemy.’ The recent cases of Hridoy Pal, Utsab Mandal, Partha Biswas Pintu, Akash Das, Pranta Talukder and Utsab Kumar Gian are shining examples of targeted persecution. Amidst the ongoing large-scale persecution of Hindus in Muslim-majority Bangladesh, the Hindu fisherman went missing only to be found dead two days later. Given the broader pattern of religiously motivated violence in the Muslim-majority country, it would not be unreasonable to suspect that he was targeted due to his Hindu identity. This case has the potential to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime, particularly considering the victim's religious background and the escalated persecution and marginalisation of the Hindu minority in the predominantly Islamic nation. However, at present, there is no explicit evidence indicating a religious motive, and the police have ruled the death as an accident. Due to these factors, the case has been placed in the 'undecided' category. Should further information emerge suggesting religious intent behind the killing, it will be reassessed and added to the hate crime database.