Chanchal Bhowmik, a 25-year-old Hindu youth, was tragically burnt to death in Narsingdi, Bangladesh on Friday night. He was sleeping in a garage when the fire broke out, and CCTV footage indicates some foul play.
Narsingdi Superintendent of Police (SP) Abdullah Al Farooq told ANI over phone that although the fire broke out inside the shop, CCTV footage showed that a suspicious person was roaming in the area.
“We have collected footage from CCTV cameras and a person was seen roaming around. We are investigating whether the fire was caused by some external factor or electrical fault,” the SP said.
The Superintendent of Police also said that the fire broke out inside the shop and the fire brigade personnel rescued him by breaking the shutter, although his body was burnt to ashes.
He further added, “We are still investigating everything, and no one has been arrested yet.”
Authorities are currently trying to determine whether the fire was caused by an electrical accident or an “external factor.” No arrests have been made till Sunday.
Security remains volatile in Bangladesh as national elections approach. These elections are scheduled to be held on February 12, 2026. The safety of religious minorities has become the center of international concern amid the ban on Awami League and rising communal tensions.
Reports from human rights organizations and government agencies indicate a sharp increase in targeted violence against minorities since the interim government led by Chief Minister Muhammad Yunus came to power in August 2024.
Internal instability has provoked sharp reactions from the exiled leadership. Addressing a gathering since her arrival in India following the violent protests in August 2024, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina strongly criticized Mohammad Yunus, the chief advisor to the interim government.
He said the country has “plunged into an age of terror” and “a treacherous plot is being hatched to sell off Bangladesh’s territory and resources to foreign interests”.
He called upon the people of the country to overthrow the Yunus regime. Bangladesh is scheduled to hold national elections on February 12 and the activities of Sheikh Hasina’s party, the Awami League, have been banned. Its registration has been suspended.
He said in a pre-recorded audio message broadcast at an event in the national capital, “Bangladesh today stands at the brink of a deep darkness, a nation deeply wounded and bleeding, passing through one of the most dangerous chapters of its history. This motherland won through the supreme liberation war under the leadership of the Father of the Nation Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman is now plagued by the horrific onslaught of extremist communal forces and foreign criminals. Our The once peaceful and fertile land has turned into a wounded, blood-soaked land. The truth is that the entire country has become a huge prison, a slaughterhouse, a valley of death.”
According to a statement from the Bangladesh Hindu Association and the Bengali Hindu Adarsh Sangh, a large crowd gathered in London’s Parliament Square on a Wednesday in January to demonstrate, demanding international attention to the ongoing torture, persecution and killings of minorities in Bangladesh.
Organized by the Bangladesh Hindu Association (BHA) and supported by Insight UK and the Bengali Hindu Adarsh Sangh (BHS), this British Hindu diaspora event was attended by over 500 participants including students, professionals, parents with children, elder workers and interfaith leaders.
As the date of the 13th national parliamentary elections in Bangladesh approaches, communal violence is increasing at an alarming rate. At least 51 incidents of violence have been recorded so far in December alone.
These included 10 murders, 10 cases of theft and dacoity and 23 incidents related to house occupation.
The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council said in a statement that the charges included looting and arson of business establishments, temples and land, religious defamation and arrests on false charges of being “agents of RAW”, four cases of torture, one attempted rape and three incidents of physical assault.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs had expressed serious concern over the killing of a Hindu youth in Bangladesh and linked the issue to the broader question of security and law and order of minorities in the country.
The Ministry of External Affairs said an independent assessment has documented more than 2,900 incidents of violence against minorities, including killings, arson and land grabbing, during the tenure of Bangladesh’s interim government led by Mohammad Yunus.
