Hindu temple and idols vandalised in Faridpur amid large-scale persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh
Faridpur District, Bangladesh 
28 July, 2025
Case Summary
In Faridpur Sadar upazila of Bangladesh, a Hindu temple was vandalised during the night, with several of its idols damaged by unknown miscreants. The incident occurred at the Khasakandi Sarbojonin Sri Sri Kali and Durga temple in Ward 6 of Khasakandi, during the night between July 29 and July 30. The 50–60-year-old Hindu temple was left unguarded after the priest lit the evening lamps and departed around 10:00 pm. The temple lacked a front gate or grill, leaving it exposed and vulnerable to such attacks. The following morning, a local Hindu devotee named Bhajan Shil discovered the damage while visiting the temple for worship. Upon detailed inspection, several idols were found with broken hands, fractured legs and teeth, torn hair, and other signs of damage. Broken parts were deliberately left in front of the temple, further proving the intentional nature of the desecration. As of the date of writing this report, a case was registered under charges of vandalism, and the investigation was ongoing. Additional police forces were deployed in the area to maintain peace. Faridpur Kotwali Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Md Asaduzzaman confirmed the attack and said an idol craftsman had been hired to carry out repairs, with the district police covering the costs. This attack is not an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern of targeted violence against the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh. The level of hostility and religious intolerance against Hindus in Bangladesh continues to escalate, with such attacks becoming alarmingly frequent, especially since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024. Since then, 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. At least 205 attacks on Hindu temples, shops, and businesses reported within just three days of Dhaka’s fall. Reports have exposed how Muslim students forced around 60 Hindu teachers, professors, and government officials to resign. Exiled Bangladeshi activist Asad Noor has also revealed that the minority Hindu community is now being coerced into joining ‘Jamaat-e-Islami’. Hindu religious events have been repeatedly targeted. On 6th September, a procession carrying Lord Ganesha’s idol was attacked in Chittagong. Ahead of Durga Puja, multiple incidents of idol vandalism occurred, including attacks in Mymensingh, Pabna, Rajshahi, Kishoreganj, and Dhaka. On 29th November, a violent Muslim mob attacked three temples in Patharghata, Chittagong, immediately after Jumma Namaz. The crackdown on Hindu voices has also escalated. On 30th November, Hindu journalist Munni Saha was arrested in Dhaka. ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu and his aides have been targeted, while attempts to ban ISKCON and suppress Hindu protests through sedition charges highlight systematic persecution under Muhammad Yunus’s interim government. The lack of prompt action by the police further emboldens the perpetrators, which creates an atmosphere of fear and insecurity among Hindus in Bangladesh.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category of: - Attack on Hindu religious representations. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Attack on temples. In Hinduism, a temple is the abode of the Deity. The Deity in the Temple is consecrated, thereby, making it a real, breathing entity. Hindus believe that not just the Deity but the temple premises itself are sacred to Hindus since Hindus hold the faith that the entire Temple space is an amalgamation of the divine energy of the deity. Given the central significance of Temples in Hindu Dharma, any attack against a Hindu Temple or its peripheral premises is an attack on the faith itself and is born out of animosity towards the faith, of which, the Temple is a central tenet. Any manner of attack against a Temple and/or its premises would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime. The other sub-category relevant here is: - Desecration of Hindu religious symbol Icons and symbols or a religious representation of a spiritual ideal are widely revered in Hinduism. Iconography is of vital significance in the Hindu milieu. It helps connect people’s spiritual beliefs with the real world. Iconography within the Hindu faith takes several shapes and forms. Murtis are of most significance to Hindus, to which daily rituals, prayers and offerings are done. Besides the murtis, there are several other symbols which have deep significance in the Hindu faith – the Om and Swastika for example. Since these Hindu religious symbols hold paramount importance in Hinduism, any desecration of symbols, icons, murtis, religious representations and manifestations, is driven by animosity towards the faith itself which manifests itself through these murtis, icons and symbols. Therefore, any desecration of these Hindu religious symbols and representations is considered religiously motivated hate crimes under this category. This case has been added to the tracker because a Hindu temple was vandalised, with its consecrated idols deliberately broken and their mutilated parts left on display in front of the temple by unknown miscreants. A temple is an institution that holds immense spiritual importance in the Hindu faith. For Hindus, temples are not mere physical structures; they are sanctified spaces that embody the divine presence of Hindu deities. Acts of violence against such spaces are not isolated incidents of destruction but reflect underlying hostility towards Hindu beliefs and identity. The attack also involved the deliberate destruction of consecrated idols of the Hindu temple. The hands, feet, teeth, and hair of the deities were broken in a calculated act of desecration and humiliation. In Hinduism, idols of Hindu deities are not just artistic representations but are deeply revered manifestations of the divine. Their desecration is seen as a direct affront to the religious sentiments of Hindus and an act of profound disrespect. Such acts of violence against Hindu temples and their idols are not just an attack on the temple property; it is an act of violence against the religious sentiments of the Hindu community that derives spiritual, cultural, and social meaning from that temple space. Furthermore, the miscreants left the broken idols in front of the temple in an act to humiliate the Hindu community and portray their dominance over them. It was meant to be a statement that Hindu religious beliefs and their places of worship would have no respect in a Muslim majority country like Bangladesh. Additionally, in a Muslim majority country like Bangladesh, Hindu religious places and symbols are often at target of Muslims due to the inherent hostility Islam has towards the Hindu faith. This incident is part of a wider and deeply troubling pattern of persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh. Attacks on temples, threats, and the displacement of Hindu families have become alarmingly common, with authorities frequently failing to protect the Hindu community or hold Muslim offenders to account. This further proves that it was not an isolated act of violence; it was a premeditated attack launched at the Hindu community and their sacred shrines. Since this attack was directed at both the Hindu temple and the temple idols, it is classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against the Hindu community. It is important to mention here that, though the last update was that the miscreants were unknown, regardless, the action stemmed from hatred against Hinduism and resulted in the desecration of the sacred temple and would therefore be considered a religiously motivated hate crime.
Case Status
Complaint filed
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
