A Hindu woman’s gang-rape in central Bangladesh, which was filmed and widely shared online, has sparked nationwide protests and renewed concerns over systemic violence against minorities and women in the south Asian nation.
A local politician, Fazor Ali, is accused of breaking in and sexually assaulting the 21-year-old victim as she was visiting her paternal home in Muradnagar in Cumilla district, multiple media outlets reported, quoting the police.
Mr Ali, named by the police as the main accused, is reported to be affiliated with the opposition Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). He was allegedly beaten by locals before being taken to a hospital. He later fled. Police said he sustained injuries that prevented him from appearing in court on Sunday, BBC reported.
BNP’s secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir has called for “exemplary punitive action” against all those involved.
Four others have also been arrested – one for participating in the assault and three for filming and circulating the video, police said.
The viral footage, described by rights groups as “a second assault”, triggered widespread outrage across Bangladesh over the weekend.
Demonstrators took to the streets in cities including the capital, Dhaka, where students from the Dhaka University and its minority dormitory, Jagannath Hall, marched in solidarity with the survivor.
A High Court bench has since ordered the removal of the video from all online platforms and directed authorities to ensure the woman’s security and provide immediate medical treatment, reported ThePrint.
Human rights organisation Ain o Salish Kendra warned that “if a woman is not safe in her own home and identity, it represents a serious failure of the state and a breakdown in security”.
Another Dhaka-based group, Manusher Jonno Foundation, said the online distribution of the video constituted a “second assault”.
In a statement, the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) condemned the attack as a war crime-like atrocity.
“Her home was forcibly invaded, her dignity shattered, and her trauma recorded and circulated like a war trophy,” the organisation said.
The HRCBM also alleged serious lapses by law enforcement, including a three-day delay in registering the complaint and a failure to conduct the mandatory medical exam within 24 hours. Authorities allegedly told the survivor it was “up to her” to pursue medical care, an act the group described as a “gross violation of procedural and ethical standards”, said the group.
The Independent has reached out to Cumilla authorities for comment.
The incident has reignited fears over rising violence against Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, particularly under the current interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, which came to power after the ousting of the Sheikh Hasina administration in August 2024.
Since then, reports of religious attacks, rapes and forced conversions have surged, according to rights groups. In Cumilla district alone, the HRCBM has recorded 13 gang-rapes of Hindu women since April 2025, reported IANS.
HRCBM claimed their video testimony also suggested that members of the local Muslim community attempted to shield the accused and downplay the attack. “This incident is not isolated,” the group said.
“It is a horrific example of an entrenched pattern in Bangladesh where minority women are routinely targeted, raped, abducted, forcibly converted, and shamed into silence.”
In December last year, Mr Yunus urged for peace while speaking to religious leaders of the country, “We are not enemies of one another despite our differences.”
Reiterating the importance of equality, he said: “We are all members of one family, and everyone has equal rights. Those who are guilty must be held accountable for their actions.”
He also sought vigilance against misinformation, particularly in the media. “We are seeing reports of renewed attacks and torture. Some of this information comes from foreign media. There are glaring gaps in what we know, and that must end.”
India’s Ministry of External Affairs has urged the Bangladeshi authorities to protect Hindu minorities.
“The interim government of Bangladesh bears the responsibility to protect Hindus, their property, and their places of worship,” said spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal last Thursday during a weekly press briefing in New Delhi.
Former prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s adviser, Sajeeb Wazed, blamed Mr Yunus’s interim administration for emboldening communal violence. “Since August 2024, Yunus has emboldened the perpetrators of atrocities… Bangladesh is now held hostage,” Mr Wazed wrote in a post on X (Twitter).
A Hindu woman gangraped in Muradnagar by a yet another mob in #Bangladesh. For nearly 11 months, mob attacks, terrorism, and rape have continued across the entire country.
— Sajeeb Wazed (@sajeebwazed) June 28, 2025
Since August 2024, #Yunus has emboldened the perpetrators of atrocities, mass killings, and human rights…
Meanwhile, Saddam Hussain, president of the Bangladesh Awami League’s student wing, Bangladesh Chhatra League, described the country as resembling a “fascist Islamist regime” in which “the cries of women and Hindu minorities continue to go unheard”.
The HRCBM is preparing a public interest litigation seeking a judicial inquiry into the condition of minority women in Bangladesh. It has urged international agencies, including the United Nations, to hold the Bangladeshi government accountable and prevent further abuse, reported IANS.
Earlier this year, the death of an eight-year-old girl after being raped also triggered nationwide protests, demanding faster justice and legal reform.
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