Dhaka: The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, a human rights organisation working for religious minorities, has claimed that at least 522 incidents of communal violence occurred across Bangladesh in 2025. This figure sharply contrasts with the interim government led by Mohammad Yunus, which reported only 71 cases involving communal elements.
Addressing a press conference in Dhaka, Monindra Kumar Nath, the acting general secretary of the Unity Council, presented the organisation’s annual review report. He stated that the data was compiled from national newspapers and various media reports covering January to December 2025.
The report reveals that these 522 incidents resulted in 66 deaths. It also highlights 28 cases of violence against women, including rape and gang rape. Additionally, there were 95 attacks on religious sites and 102 attacks on homes and commercial establishments.
The Unity Council further recorded 38 cases of abduction, extortion, and torture; 47 threats of death and physical assaults; 36 arrests and torture under blasphemy charges; and 66 instances of forced occupation of land, homes, and businesses. These details were also published by the prominent Bangladeshi newspaper, Dhaka Tribune.
With general elections scheduled for February 12, the organisation warned that communal violence continues amid the electoral environment. According to the Unity Council, between January 1 and January 27 alone, 42 incidents were reported. These included 11 murders, one rape, nine attacks on temples and churches, and 21 cases of loot, arson, and land grabbing.
Monindra Kumar Nath expressed concern that while minority communities wish to exercise their voting rights, fears over their lives, livelihoods, property, and dignity persist.
“If minority voters are discouraged, the responsibility will lie with the government, administration, election commission, and political parties,” he added.
The Unity Council also criticised a social media post made by Mohammad Yunus on January 19, which stated that 645 cases related to minorities surfaced in 2025, but only 71 were communal, with the remaining 574 labelled as non-communal.
Nath accused the interim government’s definition of communal violence as “absurd and misleading,” pointing out that murders, rapes, arson of homes, land grabbing, and targeted attacks are not considered communal unless they occur within temple premises.
The organisation further alleged harassment and criminalisation of minority leaders, citing the arrest of prominent Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das and cases filed against senior Unity Council members, which led several leaders to go into hiding.
The Unity Council stated that during Mohammad Yunus’s interim government tenure, law and order deteriorated in Bangladesh, and violence against minorities increased, raising deep concern among many national and international human rights organisations.
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