Cox’s Bazar | April 22, 2026
The body of Nayan Sadhu, a Hindu temple priest who had been missing for three days in Khurushkul, Cox’s Bazar, was recovered from a forested area on Tuesday, triggering fear and outrage among local Hindu residents and raising fresh concerns over the safety of minority religious leaders in Bangladesh.
According to local sources, Nayan Sadhu disappeared several days earlier under unclear circumstances. After an extended search by residents and family members, his body was found inside a wooded area of Khurushkul in what locals described as an abnormal and suspicious condition.
Law enforcement authorities arrived at the scene, recovered the body, and initiated legal procedures. The body is expected to undergo post-mortem examination to determine the exact cause of death.
Family members and local residents fear that the death may not be accidental and are demanding a transparent investigation.
For many in the minority Hindu community, however, this incident is not being viewed as an isolated tragedy—but as part of a growing pattern of violence, intimidation, and suspicious deaths involving religious figures.
HRCBM Field Team Visits Scene, Records Eyewitness Testimonies
Following the recovery of Nayan Sadhu’s body, a field team from Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) visited Khurushkul, Cox’s Bazar, to conduct an on-site assessment, speak with local residents, and document eyewitness testimonies regarding the incident.
During the visit, HRCBM representatives interviewed neighbors, community members, and individuals familiar with the circumstances surrounding Nayan Sadhu’s disappearance and death. Local testimonies described the incident as highly suspicious and inconsistent with any natural or accidental explanation.
Several residents expressed fear that the death bears troubling similarities to previous cases involving Hindu priests and temple caretakers found dead under questionable circumstances across Bangladesh.
HRCBM observers noted that the pattern reflects a recurring and deeply concerning trend: vulnerable religious figures—particularly those connected to temples, minority land disputes, or local religious leadership—often become targets of intimidation, disappearance, and suspicious death.
While local discussions have also raised the possibility of land-related tensions or disputes surrounding temple property and minority-owned land, HRCBM emphasizes that no grievance, dispute, or property conflict can ever justify violence, disappearance, or murder.
The organization stated that even where land grabbing, coercion, or local conflict may exist, the rule of law must prevail over impunity and violence.
Follow-Up With Police Raises Further Questions
Following the field visit, HRCBM’s Country Convenor, Advocate Lucky Bacchar, directly contacted the Officer-in-Charge of Cox’s Bazar Sadar Police Station to seek clarification regarding the progress of the investigation.
According to the discussion, police confirmed that while a formal criminal case had not yet been fully registered at that stage, the initial complaint (ejahar) had been recorded and preliminary legal procedures were underway.
Significantly, the Officer-in-Charge reportedly suggested that the matter may require investigation by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) or another specialized investigative body to ensure proper forensic examination and impartial findings.
This recommendation reflects a broader institutional reality often seen in sensitive cases involving minority victims—local police stations may face operational limitations, resource constraints, social pressure, or external influence that make independent and technically robust investigations difficult.
Without directly attributing misconduct to individual officers, rights observers note that in many such cases, families fear that ordinary police procedures alone may not be sufficient to uncover the truth, particularly where local power structures, land disputes, or communal tensions may be involved.
For minority communities, delayed FIR registration, uncertainty in investigative ownership, and hesitation in escalating serious cases to specialized agencies often deepen mistrust and reinforce perceptions of unequal access to justice.
HRCBM therefore believes that referral to CID or another independent specialist body would be an important step toward ensuring transparency, protecting evidence, and restoring public confidence in the pursuit of justice.
The organization is preparing to submit its documented findings, including eyewitness interviews, field observations, photographic evidence, and follow-up communications with law enforcement, to relevant authorities and international human rights mechanisms as part of its ongoing monitoring of violence against minorities in Bangladesh.
A Troubling Pattern of Deaths
The death of Nayan Sadhu comes after several other disturbing incidents involving temple caretakers and spiritual leaders whose deaths have raised serious questions.
Mob Lynching of Sufi Pir in Kushtia:
In another deeply disturbing case reflecting the dangerous rise of mob violence and religious vigilantism, Sufi Pir Shamim Al Jahangir, a Muslim Sufi spiritual leader associated with the shrine of Qalandar Baba in Kushtia, was brutally lynched by an extremist mob.
Reports indicate that the attack took place in the presence of law enforcement, raising serious concerns about the normalization of vigilante violence and the inability—or unwillingness—of state institutions to protect vulnerable religious figures from public brutality.
Although the victim in this case was a Muslim Sufi spiritual leader rather than a minority Hindu priest, the broader warning remains the same: when religious identity becomes a basis for accusation and mob violence replaces due process, the rule of law itself is weakened for everyone.
Such incidents demonstrate that impunity and extremist intimidation do not remain confined to one community—they erode justice for society as a whole.
Details abou this incident is available at https://www.hrcbm.org/wp-new/mob-lynches-sufi-pir-in-kushtia-highlighting-deepening-crisis-of-vigilante-violence/
Hindu Temple Caretaker Sukumar Das Found Hanging:
In October 2024, Shree Sukumar Das, the elderly caretaker priest (Sebayet) of Sompara Loknath Temple in Sitakunda, Chattogram, was found hanging from a tree near his home.
His family strongly rejected the claim of suicide.
Witnesses reported that both of his feet were partially touching the ground—an unusual position inconsistent with a normal hanging. His son publicly alleged that he had been murdered and the body was staged to resemble suicide.
Police later described the case as “mysterious,” but the incident left deep fear among local Hindus who viewed the death as an attack not only on an individual priest, but on the security of their religious life itself.
For Further details, please visit https://www.hrcbm.org/wp-new/hindu-temple-caretaker-found-dead-in-suspicious-hanging-in-sitakunda-chattogram/
Fear Spreads Across Minority Communities
Rights observers say the repeated deaths of priests, temple caretakers, and religious leaders create fear far beyond individual incidents.
When a Hindu priest disappears and is later found dead in a forest, or when an elderly temple caretaker is found hanging under suspicious circumstances, communities interpret it as a warning.
These incidents strike at the heart of minority existence—places of worship, spiritual leadership, and cultural continuity.
For vulnerable minority communities already facing land grabbing, false accusations, temple attacks, and social intimidation, such deaths deepen a sense of abandonment and insecurity.
Calls for Immediate Investigation
Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM) has expressed deep concern over the death of Nayan Sadhu and called for:
- a prompt, impartial, and transparent criminal investigation
- immediate forensic and post-mortem disclosure
- identification and prosecution of those responsible
- protection for minority religious leaders and temple caretakers
- stronger security measures around minority places of worship
Rights advocates warn that failure to investigate these deaths properly only strengthens a culture of impunity.
More Than One Death
The death of Nayan Sadhu is not merely another local crime report.
From Sitakunda to Kushtia to Cox’s Bazar, a dangerous pattern is emerging—religious figures found dead, lynched, or silenced under suspicious circumstances while communities wait for answers.
For Bangladesh’s minorities, these are not isolated incidents.
They are reminders that justice remains uncertain, and safety remains fragile.