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Bangladesh says not all minority incidents are communal; Here is what the figures say

Bangladesh's interim government reports that of 645 minority-related incidents last year, most were non-communal criminal acts. Police files only showed 71 incidents as related to communal issues

Muhammad Yunus | Salil Bera

The Bangladesh interim government said on Monday that not all of its minority related incidents were communal in nature, based on police reports collected from January to December last year.

The Muhammad Yunus led government said that out of the 645 incidents involving minority communities, only 71 were related to communal issues.

Out of the 71 incidents, 38 included temple vandalism, one temple theft, eight temple arson, murder, and 23 types of other incidents, like threats to break idols and Facebook posts.

The post made on Facebook also said that 50 out of the 71 cases were filed by police, and about 50 persons were arrested in relation to the cases.

The rest of the 574 incidents were listed as non-communal in nature.

These incidents involve neighbourhood disputes, land conflicts, political rivalry, theft, rape and sexual violence, and other personal enmity cases.

There were reportedly 51 neighbourhood disputes, 172 unnatural deaths, 58 rapes, 106 thefts, 26 prior enmity cases, and 23 land disputes, along with what is listed as others, which saw about 138 cases.

‘Others’ include cases of extortion, intimidation, abduction, etc.

The post said that the country is committed to confronting crime with transparency.

"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, underscoring both the complexity of law-and-order challenges and the importance of grounding public discussion in facts rather than fear or misinformation," the post read. The post also acknowledged that at least 3000-35000 people were killed annually in violent crimes and said, “This is not a number to be proud of.”

The interim government said that the report "does not deny challenges, nor does it claim perfection; rather, it seeks to provide a factual, evidence-based picture of crime trends affecting minority communities within the broader national context".

The statement, which was made by the Chief Advisor Muhammad Yunus' Press wing, has come just days after India pressured Dhaka to swiftly deal with attacks on minorities in the country.

Bangladesh has seen an increasing number of attacks on members of its minority communities.

According to a number from the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, the country recorded at least 51 cases of violence in just December 2025 alone.

10 of them were murders, 10 were theft and robbery, 23 involved occupations, looting, and arson involving homes, business establishments, temples, and land, and 4 were of detention and torture.

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