The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council on Wednesday alleged that at least 522 incidents of communal violence occurred across Bangladesh in 2025, sharply contradicting the government’s claim that only 71 incidents carried communal elements. The violence also included land grabbing, abductions, extortion, torture and arrests on allegations of religious blasphemy. The Unity Council strongly criticized a January 19 Facebook post by the chief adviser, which stated that investigations identified 645 incidents involving minorities in 2025 but classified only 71 as communal, labelling the remaining 574 as non-communal. Many of these cases, he said, have been identified as communal violence by national and international media and rights groups. With the 13th National Parliamentary Election scheduled for February 12, the Unity Council warned that communal violence has continued into the election period.

Source: Dhaka Tribune January 29, 2026 17:01 UTC