Dhaka: Former Bangladesh Prime Minister and President of the Bangladesh Awami League, Sheikh Hasina on Wednesday slammed the interim government in the country headed by Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus for allowing extremist groups to operate with total impunity and perpetrate unspeakable atrocities against non-Muslims, especially Hindus.
“Responsibility lies with those who currently exercise power and have failed in their most basic duty: to protect all citizens equally. The surge in violence against minorities did not arise spontaneously. It has been enabled by an unelected administration that has tolerated, denied, or downplayed communal violence while allowing extremist groups to operate with total impunity,” Hasina told IANS in an exclusive e-mail interview.
“Bangladesh was founded as a secular republic where people of all faiths could live without fear. The current climate in which peaceful Hindus, Buddhists, Christians, Ahmadi Muslims, and other minorities are targetted is the direct result of state failure and political appeasement of fundamentalist forces,” she added.
As violence against minorities continues to escalate in Bangladesh, another Hindu man died on Tuesday after jumping into a canal in a bid to save his life from a mob that accused him of robbery in Mohadevpur upazila of Naogaon district, the local media reported.
The victim, identified as 25-year-old Mithun Sarkar, lost his life in the disturbing incident, which unfolded in the Chakgori area of the upazila.
This marks the seventh incident in 19 days and the third incident this week, highlighting a disturbing surge in violence targeting Hindu communities throughout Bangladesh.
On Monday, two Hindu men were killed in separate incidents within 24 hours in Bangladesh. The first victim, identified as 40-year-old Sarat Chakraborty Mani, was fatally attacked in Narsingdi district on Monday night, in Dhaka, with sharp weapons allegedly by an extremist armed religious group.
In the second incident, a Hindu businessman, 38-year-old Rana Pratap Bairagi, was shot dead in public in Monirampur Upazila of Jashore district.
Earlier on Saturday, another Hindu man, Khokon Chandra Das, died after being brutally attacked by a mob of miscreants in Damudya Upazila of Shariatpur district.
Last week, 40-year-old Bajendra Biswas was shot dead by a colleague in Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh district.
On December 24, Bangladeshi media reported the killing of another Hindu youth, identified as 29-year-old Amrit Mondal, who was allegedly lynched by a mob in the Hossaindanga area of Kalimohar Union in Bangladesh.
On December 18, a 25-year-old Hindu youth, Dipu Chandra Das, was brutally killed in a mob lynching incident over false blasphemy accusations. The mob killed Das and then hung his body from a tree before setting it on fire.
Bangladesh has witnessed escalating violence against minorities, including Hindus, under the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government, sparking outrage among people and several human rights organisations across the globe.
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council documented 2,442 incidents of violence against minorities and over 150 temples vandalised from August 2024 to July 2025.
Several organisations have slammed Yunus, condemning the brutal incidents, warning that Bangladesh is “descending into a state of savagery,” with Hindus facing the brunt.
Last month, Hasina had slammed the “illegal” Yunus government for perpetrating unspeakable atrocities against non-Muslims.
In a message to the Awami League supporters on the occasion of Christmas, Hasina stated that the Yunus government has set “horrific precedents” such as burning religious minorities to death.
“In the recent past, Bangladesh stood as a shining example of communal harmony. The Father of the Nation envisioned a non-communal Bangladesh. The Bangladesh Awami League worked to realize that dream by ensuring that people of all faiths could live freely and without hindrance. It worked to establish equal rights and dignity for people of all religions in Bangladesh,” read the statement issued by the former Bangladesh PM which was shared by the Awami League party on social media.
“But it is with deep sorrow that I must say that the current ruling group, which has seized power illegally, is interfering with the freedom of people of all religions and communities to practice their own faiths. In particular, it is perpetrating unspeakable atrocities against non-Muslims. It has even set horrific precedents such as burning religious minorities to death. I firmly believe that the people of Bangladesh will not allow this dark time to continue any longer,” it added.
(IANS)
