On June 26, 2025, in Ramchandrapur Panchkitta village under Muradnagar upazila of Bangladesh’s Cumilla district, Fazor Ali, a local Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader, allegedly broke into the house of a Hindu woman and raped her at knifepoint. The victim is reported as either 21 or 27 years old, but all reports say she is a mother of two. Her husband works in Dubai, and she had come to stay at her father’s home for about two weeks to mark the local festival, Hari Seva.
According to the case statement, Fazor Ali, who had reportedly been stalking her, forced his way in around 10-11 pm after she refused to open the door. He sexually assaulted her inside the house. When the woman screamed, local residents rushed in, detained and beat Fazor Ali, but he managed to flee.
Arrests after Viral Video
The victim was taken to Cumilla Medical College Hospital for a medical examination. She filed a complaint on June 27 under Bangladesh’s Women and Children Repression Prevention Act of 2000.
Soon after, a deeply disturbing video surfaced online, reportedly showing the victim being brutally assaulted and pleading. Instead of immediately arresting the rapist local leader of BNP Fazor Ali, police first detained four men for sharing the explicit footage on social media. Only later, around 5 am on June 29, did they finally apprehend BNP local leader Fazor Ali in Dhaka’s Saydabad area. All five are now under investigation.
Widening Protests
The assault triggered protests across Bangladesh. Hindu Students of Dhaka University took to the streets early Sunday, demanding answers from authorities and justice for the victim. Awami League supporters also claimed the incident was yet another instance of BNP members targeting the Hindu minority.
Since the ousting of Sheikh Hasina last year and the rise of Muhammad Yunus as interim head, attacks on Bangladesh’s Hindu community have become more frequent. Various organisations recently staged human chains in Dhaka to highlight the systematic violence against Hindus and other minorities.
A Dangerous Routine
This horrific case is yet another reminder of how unsafe Bangladesh has become for Hindu minorities, particularly from Islamist radicals who see terrorising Hindus as part of their ideological project. When such forces know the state will likely look away, their crimes become even more brazen.
It’s chilling to imagine that without the viral video, as tragic and humiliating as it was for the victim, this case might have ended as a minor local headline:
“Hindu woman raped in Cumilla,” quickly forgotten.
Instead, the very act of circulating the video, perhaps done by twisted minds to flaunt dominance over Hindus, backfired by sparking outrage. This is not the first time we’ve seen Islamist extremists revel in showcasing the suffering of Hindus to prove their control. They wanted to humiliate, but ended up forcing the state to act.
What makes this case worse is that it’s not rare anymore. Just days ago, Bangladesh’s administration demolished a Durga temple in Dhaka, without even giving devotees time to relocate the idols. India, which normally avoids commenting on internal matters of neighbours, was compelled to condemn it, a sign of how dire things have become. Within 48 hours of that outrage, this rape surfaced.
It’s not that no other atrocities happened between these incidents. It’s just that attacks on Hindus have become so routine that they no longer shock unless caught on camera or forced into dragged into the international spotlight. This growing normalisation is what’s truly frightening. This is how persecution becomes normalised, which is far more chilling than a single crime.
A Lesson for Us
As Indians, we can only press our government to act diplomatically, keep raising these issues, and most importantly, learn from them. We must teach future generations to recognise patterns of hate, to stand united, and never allow such horrors to become normal here.
Because in Bangladesh, under Yunus, violence against Hindus isn’t just a crime; it’s a political tool, one that Islamist extremists use with frightening confidence that their state will shield them.