Hindu youth found murdered after minor dispute with Muslim 'friend'

Case Summary
A 30-year-old Hindu youth identified as Sushanta Sarkar was found dead. Police recovered his body from the banks of the Meghna River in Nabinagar Upazila, Brahmanbaria District, Bangladesh. Sushanta, the son of Nitai Chandra Sarkar, had been friends with Ashik Mia, son of Taher Mia, both from the same village. On the night of Sunday, August 18, Ashik, along with a group of individuals, visited Sushanta's home and called him outside. Sushanta did not return that night, and his body was discovered by the river the following morning. Sushanta's mother, Rupali Sarkar, revealed that her son had recently sold an old motorcycle to Ashik, who had not paid for it, leading to several arguments between them. Rupali said that Ashik, harbouring a grudge, took her son away, murdered him, and left his body by the river. 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 the area in a major crackdown on Hindus.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added under the prime category of- Attack resulting in death, within which, the sub-category 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, cases where the attack led to the death of the Hindu victim/s would be documented. When there is an ongoing ethnic cleansing based on religious identity, every crime in and of itself is assumed to be motivated by the same religious animosity even if there is a lack of specific religious marker in the immediate crime. During an ongoing ethnic cleansing, the dehumanisation of people based on their religious identity and the normalisation of religious hostility drives the crimes committed against them even when there is a lack of stated religious motive. For the purpose of documenting the 2024 ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh, the Hinduphobia Tracker is assuming religious motivation ab initio. If a case is specifically and beyond reasonable doubt proven to be driven by motivations other than religious hostility, it will post-facto be removed from the hate crime database.
Victim Details
Total Victim
1
Deceased
1
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 1
- Unknown 0
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0

Case Status
Complaint filed

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Muslim Extremists
Perpetrators Range
One Person
Perpetrators Gender
male