NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — India has strongly condemned the killing of Bhabesh Chandra Roy, a prominent Hindu community leader from Bangladesh, calling the attack part of a “pattern of systematic persecution” of Hindus under the country’s interim government, led by Nobel laureate Prof. Mohammed Yunus.
In a sharply worded statement issued Saturday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said the government had taken note of Roy’s “abduction and brutal killing” with deep distress. Jaiswal linked the crime to a broader trend of attacks on Bangladesh’s Hindu minority, warning that perpetrators continue to “roam with impunity” while the Yunus administration fails to act.
“We condemn this incident and once again remind the interim government to live up to its responsibility of protecting all minorities, including Hindus, without inventing excuses or making distinctions,” Jaiswal said in the statement, which was also posted on X.
Roy, 58, was a respected leader in Dinajpur district and served as vice president of the Biral unit of the Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad, a Hindu organization that coordinates religious festivals across the country. His death has sparked fresh outrage among human rights groups and diaspora communities, who have long criticized the treatment of religious minorities in Bangladesh.
According to The Daily Star, Roy was at home on Thursday afternoon when he received a phone call around 4:30 p.m. His wife, Shantana Roy, told the newspaper that the call was believed to have been made by his attackers to confirm his location. Roughly half an hour later, four men arrived on two motorcycles, abducted Roy from his home, and transported him to nearby Narabari village.
Eyewitnesses told The Daily Star that Roy was severely beaten before the assailants brought his unconscious body back to his home later that evening in a van. His family, assisted by local residents, rushed him to Biral Upazila Health Complex, and later to Dinajpur Medical College Hospital, where doctors pronounced him dead on arrival.
The officer-in-charge of Biral police station, Abdus Sabur, confirmed to The Daily Star that police are preparing to file a formal case and are working to identify and apprehend the suspects. Roy’s body has since been sent for an autopsy.
The MEA’s remarks follow a string of diplomatic tensions between India and Bangladesh over minority rights. Just days before Roy’s killing, Shafiqul Alam, press secretary to Chief Advisor Prof. Yunus, urged India to address concerns about the treatment of its Muslim minority population — a comment that India dismissed as “disingenuous.”
India’s latest statement marks an escalation in its critique of the Yunus-led interim government, which has come under increasing international scrutiny as Bangladesh prepares for national elections later this year. The incident has also reignited debate within the broader South Asian region about the protection of minority communities amid political instability.
Human rights advocates have long documented cases of violence, forced conversions, and social discrimination against Hindus in Bangladesh. Groups such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have repeatedly urged Dhaka to strengthen protections for religious minorities and hold perpetrators accountable, but attacks like Roy’s have continued to raise alarm both domestically and abroad.
The killing has drawn attention to the vulnerability of Hindu leaders who are active in cultural and religious organizations in Bangladesh’s northern districts, particularly Dinajpur, which has seen sporadic communal violence in recent years.
