Hindu temple attacked, Goddess Saraswati and Lord Kartikeya idols desecrated by extremists in Bangladesh
Barisal Division, Bangladesh 
2 July, 2025
Case Summary
In Agailjhara upazila in Barisal district, Bangladesh, a Hindu temple was vandalised with idols of Goddess Saraswati and Lord Kartikeya deliberately broken by extremists. According to the reports, extremists targeted and vandalised the Ashok Sen Sarbajanin Radha-Govinda and Durga Temple in the middle of the night. The attackers broke the lock of the temple, entered the premises, and damaged multiple idols inside, including the idols of Goddess Saraswati and Lord Kartikeya. The desecration was discovered the following morning, when local Hindu devotees arrived for prayers and found the temple in a desecrated state. The incident led to unrest and concern among the local Hindu population, who expressed fear over their safety and frustration at the lack of administrative response. Locals reported that the temple had been functioning as a regular place of worship without any known local tensions or recent disturbances. The temple has long served the Hindu community in the area, which practices daily rituals and holds religious events there. On July 5, 2025, social activist Malay Ghatak visited the site, condemned the incident, and demanded strict action against those responsible. He urged authorities to investigate and take appropriate legal action. This case serves as a stark reminder of the continued persecution of Hindus in Bangladesh, which has only increased manifold since the fall of Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League government on August 5, 2024. After her violent ouster, Bangladesh 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 various parts of the Islamic country in a major crackdown on Hindus. 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. Muslim mob attacks have increased in Bangladesh, for example, on 22nd May 2025, a Muslim mob carried out arson attacks selectively on Hindu homes in Dahar Mashihati village in Abhaynagar upazila in Jessore district of Bangladesh. Even ISKCON leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Prabhu and his aides have been targeted, and attempts have been made to ban ISKCON and suppress Hindu protests through sedition charges. These arbitrary actions point to a systematic pattern of persecution under Muhammad Yunus’s interim government.
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 as the extremists deliberately targeted a Hindu temple, with the intention of vandalising it and desecrating it. They deliberately attacked the temple in the middle of the night without any sort of provocation and vandalised it. 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 desecration of Hindu religious symbols through the destruction of the idols of Goddess Saraswati and Lord Kartikeya. 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 psychological impact of such attacks is immense. Hindu devotees who visit temples seek solace, peace, and a sense of connection with the divine. When these sacred temples are targeted and desecrated, it shatters the sense of security and belonging that the Hindu community derives from its religious institutions. The pain caused by the desecration of the temple idols is not limited to the physical damage; it is a wound to the collective psyche of the Hindu community. 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
Unknown
Perpetrators Details
Perpetrators
Unknown
Perpetrators Range
Unknown
Perpetrators Gender
unknown
Sources 
