Hindu homes selectively targeted and looted, Hindu woman gang-raped by Muslims amidst ongoing persecution of Hindus

Case ID : 99581e8 | Location : Pirojpur District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Sun, 4 August, 2024

Case ID : 99581e8

Pirojpur District, Bangladesh

4 August, 2024

Hindu homes selectively targeted and looted, Hindu woman gang-raped by Muslims amidst ongoing persecution of Hindus

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for Hindu identity

Communal clash/attack

Case Summary

In the Pirojpur district of Bangladesh, Hindus were subjected to brutal attacks by a Muslim mob. Hindu homes were selectively targeted, attacked, and looted. A Hindu woman was also brutally gang-raped by members of the Muslim mob. According to news reports, a video of this incident circulated widely on social media. In the viral video, Hindu women could be heard recounting their ordeal. One Hindu woman, who was a victim of the violence, said, “They (Muslims) came with swords and sharp weapons. They looted everything. To save our daughters, we gave them everything we had.” Another Hindu woman, weeping, said, “They came at night. They vandalised our houses and looted everything. We hid during this time. They caught my brother-in-law’s wife and took her to another room. They raped her. Later, we found her with her face tied with clothes. They also wanted to slit her throat. To save her, we gave them all our gold jewellery.” A third Hindu woman recalled, “They warned us that fifty of their men had surrounded the house and we had no way to escape. Then, they looted everything. They caught me and forced me onto the bed, threatening to kill me. I pleaded with them to either leave me or kill me. The attackers demanded I hand over all my valuables. After I gave them all my jewellery, they left me.” This incident is a stark reminder of the ongoing persecution faced by the Hindu community since the exile of Sheikh Hasina from 5th August 2025. Since her exile, Islamist mobs have unleashed violent rampages against Hindus. Hindu homes and temples have been targeted, revealing deep-rooted animosity. After Sheikh Hasina’s resignation, numerous incidents of looting, vandalism, and rape of Hindu women have come to light. Killings of Hindus and widespread destruction of temples continue across Bangladesh. Hindu temples have been attacked in Natore, Dhamrai in Dhaka, Kalapara in Patuakhali, Shariatpur, and Faridpur. Hindu homes have similarly been targeted in Jessore, Noakhali, Meherpur, Chandpur, and Khulna, while 40 Hindu shops have been vandalised in Dinajpur. These repeated violent attacks have further exacerbated the plight of Hindus in Bangladesh and laid bare the harsh reality they face.

Why it is Hate Crime ?

This case has been added to the tracker under the primary category- Attack not resulting in Death. The first subcategory 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. The second subcategory selected is- Communal Clash/ Attack. Communal clash is a form of collective violence that involves clashes between groups belonging to different religious identities. For a communal clash between Hindus and non-Hindus to qualify as a religiously motivated hate crime, the trigger of the violence itself would have to be anti-Hindu in essence. For example, if there is a Hindu religious procession that comes under attack from a non-Hindu mob and after the initial attack, Hindus retaliate in self-defence, leading to a communal clash between the two religious communities. While at a later stage, both communities are involved in the clash/violence, the initial trigger of the violence was by the non-Hindu mob against the Hindus and therefore, it could safely be termed as an anti-Hindu violence. Further, the trigger would also have to be religiously motivated. In the cited example, the attack by the non-Hindu mob was against religious processions and therefore, can be concluded to be religiously motivated. In some cases, the trigger may be non-religious, however, it develops into religious violence against Hindus at a later stage. In such cases too, the foundational animosity towards Hindus becomes the motivating factor of the crime and therefore, it would be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime against Hindus under this category. This incident in Pirojpur district is a clear example of a hate crime against Hindus, underscored by a pattern of targeted violence, religious animosity, and deep-seated hatred. In this case, the Muslim mob did not attack indiscriminately; they went on a violent rampage, deliberately selecting only Hindu homes to attack and loot. This selective targeting exposes the communal mindset and highlights that the violence was not random but motivated by hostility towards the Hindu community. The brutality did not end with looting; the Muslim mob committed acts of extreme physical violence, most horrifically seen in the gang rape of a Hindu woman. Not only was she assaulted, but the attackers also tried to slit her throat, a chilling attempt to erase her existence and traumatise her family further. These acts are not just crimes of opportunity, but are loaded with the intent to terrorise an entire community and break their spirit. Such targeted attacks against Hindus are a result of religious animosity that the Muslim perpetrators have towards the Hindu community and their faith. The violence extended further, as other Hindus were also threatened and faced the imminent danger of being killed or sexually assaulted. Women pleaded for their lives, offering everything they had in the hopes of saving themselves and their families. This atmosphere of terror was created with the express purpose of forcing Hindus to flee, submit, or endure unspeakable suffering. These crimes cannot be viewed in isolation. They are part of a much larger picture of systematic persecution faced by Hindus in Bangladesh, especially in the wake of significant political upheavals, such as the exile of Sheikh Hasina. In the wake of her departure, Islamist mobs have repeatedly targeted Hindu homes, temples, and livelihoods, subjecting the community to attacks, looting, vandalism, and even murder. The singling out of Hindus for such violence is driven by deep religious animosity, manifesting in aggressive attempts to drive out, silence, or destroy their presence. Each element of this incident: selective targeting, sexual violence, attempted murder, and the broader pattern of persecution, is rooted in religious hatred. The consequences are not just physical, but they also leave profound psychological scars on the Hindu survivors and the entire Hindu community. Given that this case meets multiple parameters of a religiously motivated crime, it is being added to the hate crime database. Disclaimer: Media reports do not specify the exact number of victims. They mention statements from three women and reference one woman being gang-raped. Therefore, for the purpose of documentation, we are taking a conservative estimate and recording the victim count as ‘4’.