Bangladesh: Days after a Hindu student was found in a university, the body of a college student was recovered from a river in Bangladesh’s Naogaon district on Saturday, according to local media reports. According to the Dhaka media, the body was discovered on Saturday afternoon in a river near the Kalitala cremation ground in Naogaon town. At the time of recovery, the identity of the deceased could not be immediately established.
Victim Identified as Bangladeshi Hindu Fourth-Year College Student
The report later identified the deceased as Abhi, a fourth-year honours student in the Management Department of a government college in the district.
Abhi was the son of Ramesh Chandra, a resident of Santahar in Adamdighi upazila of Bogura district.
According to family members, Abhi had been missing since January 11, after he left home following an argument. His family had been searching for him continuously over the past seven days.
Hand legs tied & thrown in River to die. Ovi Das student of Jagannath University in Bangladesh was thrown alive into a river by Muslims.
They are burning Hindus alive, drowning Hindus alive.
This is the condition of Hindus in Bangladesh and the world is silent. Forget world &… pic.twitter.com/QEGAU6845M— Radharamn Das राधारमण दास (@RadharamnDas) January 20, 2026
After news of the body’s discovery circulated on social media, the family rushed to the riverbank. They identified Abhi’s body based on the clothes he was wearing when he left home, The Daily Agrajatra Pratidin reported.
Cause of Death Unclear, Foul Play Not Ruled Out in Death of Another Bangladeshi Hindu
The circumstances surrounding Abhi’s death remain unclear. Family members and local residents have raised questions over whether the death was accidental or involved foul play.
Abhi’s father told local media that the family had searched relatives’ homes and other possible locations before filing a general diary (GD) at the Adamdighi police station when their efforts failed to locate him.
Police Await Post-Mortem Report in Bangladeshi Hindu Abhi’s Death
Naogaon Sadar police station officer-in-charge Niamul Islam confirmed that the body has been sent for post-mortem examination.
“The cause of death will be determined after receiving the autopsy report,” he said, according to The Daily Agrajatra Pratidin.
Earlier, police in Old Dhaka recovered the hanging body of a Jagannath University (JnU) student from the Bhatikhana area on Wednesday, January 18.
Preliminary police investigations suggested that the death may have been a case of suicide. However, the incident occurred amid escalating violence against Hindus in Bangladesh over the past two months, raising questions about the police’s initial assessment.
Rising Violence Against Bangladeshi Hindus
In a span of one month and 16 days, at least 17 people have been killed across Bangladesh in a series of violent incidents spread across multiple districts.
According to compiled case details:
14 cases have been registered
21 arrests have been made
Four cases remain without any arrests
Several of the deaths involved mob violence and public punishment.
Muhammad Yunus Downplays Communal Angle As Bangladeshi Hindus Face Violence
Amid growing concerns over violence targeting Hindus, the interim government has released official data aimed at downplaying fears of communal attacks.
The figures, shared by Chief Adviser Mohammad Yunus, claim that most incidents involving minorities in 2025 were ordinary crimes, rather than attacks driven by religious motives.
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
