Muhammad Yunus: The interim government of Bangladesh, headed by Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, has finally released data regarding violence that minorities and Hindus in general are facing in Bangladesh. He said that most incidents involving minority communities in 2025 were not driven by religion but were criminal in nature. This was made public on Monday after pressure from India, which had raised concerns about attacks on minorities.
According to the year-long review of official police records from January to December 2025, a total of 645 incidents involving minorities were recorded across the country. The government said that only 71 had “communal elements”, which means that they could be linked in some way to religion. The remaining 574 incidents were marked as non-communal and linked to disputes like theft, land conflict, personal enmity, rape, or unnatural deaths.
In the statement posted on X, Muhammad Yunus’ verified social media handle, the government made it clear that, “While every incident is a matter of concern, the data presents a clear and evidence-based picture: the overwhelming majority of cases were criminal in nature rather than communal.”
Stats show opposite of what Muhammad Yunus is saying
The 71 communal cases included things like 38 instances of temple vandalism, eight arson cases, one theft, one murder, and 23 other incidents, including threats, provocative social media posts, and damage to places of worship. Police filed cases and made arrests in 50 of these cases.
For the 574 non-communal incidents, police records showed 51 neighbourhood disputes, 23 land conflicts, 106 thefts, 26 cases of prior enmity, 58 rapes and 172 cases labelled unnatural death. In these, 390 cases were registered, 154 unnatural death reports filed, and 498 arrests made, plus more actions in other cases.
Muhammad Yunus’ interim government added that while all crimes are serious and require accountability, the data shows most incidents affecting minorities were part of general criminal or social problems that affect everyone, not religion-based hate.
However, many organisations and minority groups have dismissed Muhammad Yunus’ narrative. Independent human rights organisations and community leaders have reported that there have been frequent attacks on minorities, especially Hindu communities. They said that some violence feels communal in nature and that the government’s classification may blur the true picture.
Recently a report was published which said that at least 15 Hindus were murdered between December 1, 2025 and January 15, 2026, which has raised serious concern about minority safety in Bangladesh.
