Hindu businessman kidnapped amidst ethnic cleansing of Hindus in Bangladesh

Case Summary
A gold trader, Dhirendranath Dey, the owner of Uttam Jewelers in Chaugachha, Jessore, was kidnapped on, January 6. The incident occurred around 7:30 pm when Dey went for a walk near a food warehouse on the Chowgachha-Jessore road. A microbus stopped near him, and miscreants forcibly pushed him into the vehicle before driving towards Jessore. Later, the kidnappers contacted Dey’s son, Uttam Kumar, demanding a ransom of 1.5 million Bangladeshi Rupees. Initially, they asked for 1 million but later increased the demand. They instructed Uttam to bring gold ornaments or money to Jessore and said they would inform him of the release location upon his arrival. Upon learning of the incident, police officials visited Dey's house and the scene of the kidnapping. Officer-in-Charge Kamal Hossain of Chaugachha Police Station confirmed that the police had begun an immediate investigation. Since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024, the Hindu minority community in Bangladesh were targeted and several temples were destroyed in the area in a major crackdown on Hindus.
Why it is Hate Crime ?
This case has been added to the tracker under the prime category of- Attack not resulting in death. Under this, 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. The removal of Sheikh Hasina from power in Bangladesh on August 5, 2024, escalated the persecution and marginalisation of the Hindu minority in the predominantly Islamic nation, intensifying what can be described as a silent genocide. Since her ouster, Islamists have carried out unchecked atrocities against Hindus, including physical violence, the destruction of temples and religious symbols, and the systematic displacement of Hindus from their ancestral lands. Over 205 attacks on Hindu temples, shops, and businesses have been recorded following Sheikh Hasina's removal as Prime Minister. Many Hindus have been brutally murdered or injured in these assaults. Here it is important to understand that 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
0
Gender
- Male 1
- Female 0
- Third Gender 0
- Unknown 0
Caste
- SC/ST 0
- OBC 0
- General 0
- Unknown 1
Age Group
- Minor 0
- Adult 1
- Senior Citizen 0
- Unknown 0

Case Status
Complaint registered

Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown