Hindu leader Bhabesh Chandra Roy was abducted and murdered in Bangladesh’s Dinajpur district, sparking outrage in India. The incident highlights rising attacks on minorities under the interim government of Muhammad Yunus. India has condemned the violence and urged Bangladesh to ensure protection and justice for all minority communities.
Prominent Hindu community leader Bhabesh Chandra Roy (58) was abducted and beaten to death in Dinajpur district, northern Bangladesh. His death has triggered outrage across the border in India, raising concerns over the deteriorating safety of religious minorities under the interim government of Muhammad Yunus.
Roy, who served as Vice-President of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, was a respected figure in his village of Basudebpur. On the afternoon of April 17, he received a phone call around 4:30 PM—believed to have been made by his assailants to confirm his presence at home. Within half an hour, four unidentified men arrived on two motorcycles and forcibly took him away.
According to eyewitnesses, Roy was taken to nearby Narabari village, where he was subjected to a brutal beating. His unconscious body was later returned to his residence in a van. Despite being rushed to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital by family members and locals, he was declared dead on arrival.
Biral Police Station’s Officer-in-Charge Abdus Sabur confirmed that a formal case is being filed and an investigation is underway to identify the perpetrators.
Roy’s killing is the latest in a troubling surge of violence against minorities in Bangladesh. Rights watchdog Ain O Salish Kendra (ASK) recently reported 147 incidents of violence against minority communities since August 2024, including 408 acts of vandalism against homes, 113 attacks on businesses, 32 assaults on places of worship—among them Ahmadiyya mosques—and desecration of 92 Hindu idols.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) issued a strong condemnation. “We have noted with distress the abduction and brutal killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a Hindu minority leader in Bangladesh. This follows a pattern of systematic persecution of Hindu minorities under the interim government,” MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated on X (formerly Twitter).
The matter was also raised by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his recent meeting with interim Bangladeshi leader Muhammad Yunus at the BIMSTEC Summit in Bangkok. Modi expressed “deep concerns” over the safety of Hindus and other minorities in Bangladesh and urged thorough investigations and accountability.
Jaiswal, reiterating India’s position, said, “This violence cannot be dismissed as political or media agitation. The responsibility lies with the Bangladeshi government.”
Tensions have soared since Muhammad Yunus assumed power following the ousting of the Sheikh Hasina-led Awami League government. Despite promises of restoring order, the interim administration has been unable to stem the rising tide of violence targeting minorities and political dissenters.
