The brutal killing of 28-year-old Hindu auto-rickshaw driver Samir Kumar Das in Feniโs Daganbhuiyan upazila has intensified fears of systematic attacks on Bangladeshโs Hindu minority, with family, local residents, and rights activists alleging the involvement of local Jubo Dal (youth wing of BNP) activists in an extortion-related murder.
The incident occurred late Sunday night (January 11) near the Daganbhuiyan Upazila Health Complex. According to police and family accounts, assailants hacked Samirโson of Kartik Kumar Das and Rina Rani Das of Ramanandpur villageโwith sharp weapons on the head, face, and chest before fleeing with his auto-rickshaw. His body was discovered by locals, who alerted authorities. Police recovered the body, prepared an inquest report, and sent it to Feni General Hospital morgue for autopsy. An investigation is underway, said Officer-in-Charge (OC) Muhammad Faizul Azim of Daganbhuiyan Police Station, adding that efforts are ongoing to identify and arrest the perpetrators.
Samirโs family and area residents claim the killing was not a random robberyโhis mobile phones, cash, and gold chain were left untouchedโpointing instead to a premeditated murder linked to repeated extortion demands. They accuse local Jubo Dal activists of creating a โreign of terrorโ in the area since August 5, 2024, through killings, extortion, theft, robbery, and dacoity. They had demanded money from Samir before. We have been living in fear ever since, family members told reporters.
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Prominent journalist Sahidul Hasan Khokon described the murder as part of a disturbing pattern of violence against Hindus. โSamir Das was deliberately lured out at night and brutally hacked to death. The fact that valuables were untouched raises strong suspicion of targeted killing rather than robbery,โ Khokon said. โA peaceful, hardworking young man has been killed in cold blood, leaving behind his wife, a two-year-old child, and a grieving family. We demand a fair, transparent investigation and exemplary punishment.โ
The Feni killing marks the eighth reported targeted murder of Hindus in less than a month, following the lynching and burning of RMG worker Dipu Chandra Das in Bhaluka on false blasphemy allegations amid anti-India campaigns by supporters of the interim government.
The surge in violence has drawn sharp condemnation from minority rights groups. The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Oikya Parishad (BHBCOP), in a January 6 press release, documented 51 incidents against minorities in December 2025 aloneโincluding 10 murders, 23 cases of land/temple/business occupation and arson, 10 thefts/robberies, four blasphemy-based detentions/torture, one attempted rape, and three assaults. Early January saw further atrocities: arson on paddy fields in Lakshmipur, the hacking and burning of businessman Khokon Chandra Das in Shariatpur, armed robberies in Chattogram and Cumilla, the rape and torture of a Hindu widow in Jhenaidah, demands to remove Kurigram DC Annapurna Debnath over alleged ISKCON ties, and fatal shootings/stabbings in Jashore and Narsingdi.
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BHBCOPโs acting general secretary Manindra Kumar Nath warned that minorities are gripped by fear and uncertainty ahead of the February 12 election, alleging deliberate intimidation to suppress their voting rights. โThe situation is very concerning. Religious freedoms must be protected. The murders of Hindus and ongoing persecution are wrong and must stop,โ Nath said. โThe UK Government and international community should use their influence to ensure stability and a future where Hindus are safe.โ
The Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) reported 116 minority deathsโincluding lynchings, murders, and suspicious casesโacross 45 districts from June 6, 2025, to January 5, 2026, often tied to blasphemy claims, mob violence, and arson.
The pattern of targeted violence has raised alarms about communal harmony, minority safety, and free participation in the democratic process. Rights advocates and community leaders are calling for urgent government action to halt the attacks, conduct impartial investigations, and guarantee protection for vulnerable groups. Without such measures, many fear the election risks deepening divisions and eroding public trust.
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