Rights Group Reports 824 Incidents of Violence Against Minorities in Bangladesh During First Half of 2026

Dhaka, July 30, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)

A leading minority rights organisation has documented 824 incidents of alleged human rights violations against religious, ethnic and indigenous minority communities across Bangladesh during the first six months of 2026, raising concerns over what it describes as a widespread pattern of insecurity across the country.

In a report titled The Persecution Continues: Minority Communities Under Sustained Attack in Bangladesh, the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) said the incidents were recorded between January and June across 63 of Bangladesh’s 64 districts.

According to the report, the documented violations include murders and suspicious deaths, kidnappings, physical assaults, sexual violence, attacks on temples and religious institutions, land grabbing, arson, looting, destruction of minority-owned property and alleged persecution linked to blasphemy accusations.

The HRCBM said the widespread geographical distribution and recurring nature of the incidents indicate that the violence cannot be viewed merely as isolated criminal acts. It noted that minority individuals, families, women, religious institutions, businesses, ancestral lands and indigenous communities had been affected in both rural and urban areas.

The report stated that property-related attacks, including land grabbing, arson and looting, were documented in 57 districts, while incidents of kidnapping and physical assault were reported in 55 districts. Murders and suspicious deaths were recorded in 53 districts, and attacks on temples and religious institutions in 49 districts.

The organisation also highlighted violence against minority women and girls, documenting 41 incidents involving rape, gang rape, attempted rape, sexual harassment, child sexual abuse, abduction-related cases and allegations of coercive marriage or religious conversion.

The report further noted that indigenous communities, including the Chakma and Tripura populations, particularly in the Chittagong Hill Tracts, continued to face killings, assaults, abductions, political intimidation, land disputes and broader security concerns.

Calling for stronger institutional safeguards, the HRCBM urged the Bangladesh government to establish an independent national inquiry into the reported incidents and create a centralised mechanism to monitor crimes against religious, ethnic and indigenous minorities across the country.