Chittagong/Dhaka: The increasing attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have raised serious concerns as the violence persists despite the departure of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Targeted threats and demands for ransom have become the norm for many minorities in the country, with reports suggesting a growing climate of fear.
One such case, reported by The Times of India, involves Nimay Halder (name changed), a student who fled Bangladesh and arrived in India on a student visa to pursue engineering studies in Maharashtra. Halder claims that last week, she received multiple threatening calls demanding several lakh takas in protection money or urging her to leave Bangladesh altogether.
Halder’s family resides in a predominantly Hindu neighborhood in Chittagong, where elderly parents and other relatives continue to face harassment. According to Halder, the miscreants are identifying Hindu households and demanding ransoms of 5 lakh taka under the guise of “protection money.”
In one of the calls, the alleged Islamist group member warned, “If you can’t pay the protection money, leave the country or face death.” The caller’s threatening message left the family in shock and distress. Halder added that similar threats have been received by other Hindu families in their area.
Halder recounted that she had moved to Dhaka for work before leaving for India, but her family remains vulnerable in Chittagong. Although rural Bangladesh has witnessed widespread looting and violence against Hindu homes, urban areas had, until recently, been relatively safe. However, the ransom threats have changed this perception, causing heightened fear among the community.
Halder, who currently lives with her uncle’s family in India, is no stranger to such turmoil. Her family fled Bangladesh during the 1971 war when the Pakistan Army and its militias targeted minorities. Now, decades later, the fear of violence and displacement is resurfacing.
Local reports indicate that phone numbers of Hindu families are being tracked, leading to the targeted extortion calls. While no ransom collections have been reported yet, the fear among minorities remains palpable. The community is now in a state of heightened anxiety, uncertain of what the future holds as the violence shows no sign of abating.
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