Ancient Hindu temple land enroached, female devotee attacked by Muslim man in Bangladesh

Case ID : e27494e | Location : Comilla District, Bangladesh | Date of Incident : Fri, 20 June, 2025

Case ID : e27494e

Comilla District, Bangladesh

20 June, 2025

Ancient Hindu temple land enroached, female devotee attacked by Muslim man in Bangladesh

Attack on Hindu religious representations

Encroachment or illicit takeover of temple land/land near temple

Attack not resulting in death

Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim

Case Summary

In Bara Dharmapur village of Barpara union, Comilla Sadar Dakshin upazila, Bangladesh, a 1400-year-old ancient Hindu temple's land was illegally encroached by a Muslim man named Abdul Ali. The Shiv Chandi Mandir is located in the Chandimura area of Lalmai Hills. The Muslim man, Abdul Ali, constructed a makeshift tin house on the temple land and declared the land as his ancestral property. When a Hindu woman named Chandana Rahut, one of the female devotees of the temple, tried to intervene and stop the construction, she was attacked by Abdul Ali and his men. Following a complaint by the temple authorities, Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Rubaiya Khanam and police Officer-in-Charge Rafiqul Islam visited the site and directed Abdul Ali to remove his illegal encroachment. The officers further told the temple authorities as well to remove the rest house that they built, as the matter is in court. Abdul Ali claimed that his father had purchased the land, but the official records show that property was registered in the name of the Shiv Chandi Mandir. He acknowledged the fact that the land was registered in the name of the temple and said that he had filed a case in the court to correct the land record. The temple committee president, Dipak Saha, rejected Abdul Ali’s statement and said that 600 acres on the western side of the entrance gate are officially recorded as temple property. The committee maintained that the rest house constructed on the site was a facility for devotees.

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: - Encroachment or illicit takeover of temple land/land near temple. 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. Not only the Temple but the Temple premises in its entirety are considered sacred by Hindus. In several cases, the premises of the Temple and/or religious centre are illicitly taken over by institutions belonging to other faiths – like the Waqf board or the Church. Other times, the temple property, land or the property of religious centres are illicitly encroached by non-Hindu groups. Any illicit take over or encroachment is a crime an initio, however, when non-Hindu groups illicitly take over or encroach the sacred land of Hindus, it is an affront to the Hindu community and is therefore classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. The second primary category selected here is: - Attack not resulting in death. Within it, the sub-category selected is: - Attacked for opposing radicals or trying to save victim. In several cases, Hindus are attacked for opposing religiously motivated crimes being committed against a fellow Hindu or simply for voicing an opinion opposing radical elements, who either have in the past or continue to persecute Hindus. In such cases, the initial attack against the victim, against which the Hindu was trying to defend the victim, would also need to be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime. Since the initial crime itself was religiously motivated and the subsequent crime of attempting to save the victim or speaking against the radical elements ends up inviting a violent attack, it would also be classified as a religiously motivated hate crime under this category. This case has been added to the tracker because the sacred land of the 1400-year-old Shiv Chandi Temple was encroached upon by a Muslim man named Abdul Ali. In Hinduism, a temple is not just a place of worship but the abode of the Deity. The entire temple premises is considered sacred and is believed to embody the divine presence. Thus, any attempt to encroach upon this land is an attack on the sanctity of the temple and its presiding deity. Such actions are seen not only as a violation of property rights but also as a direct affront to the religious sentiments and cultural heritage of the Hindu community. The attempted takeover of the temple land was a strategic act to gain physical control over a sacred Hindu site through illegal means, thereby undermining the historical and spiritual presence of Hindus in the area. Such moves are part of a broader pattern, where temples and their premises are gradually taken over under false pretences through illegal means. What may seem like a minor act, just a tin house, often is a precursor to a complete takeover of the temple land, especially in a Muslim majority country like Bangladesh, where Hindus are increasingly marginalised. These encroachments are aimed at undermining the Hindu religious presence in the area, with the ultimate goal of complete erasure of the Hindu presence from public and sacred spaces. Furthermore, a Hindu female devotee tried to intervene and prevent encroachment, but she was physically assaulted by Abdul and his men. Such retaliatory violence often acts as a statement for fellow Hindus that if they try to resist, they will be met with violence. When the act of protecting one’s place of worship is met with physical violence, it exposes the deep-rooted religious hostility behind such crimes. This wasn’t just an attack on a person; it was an attack on a community’s right to exist with dignity and faith.