107 Hindus killed in 2017

At least 107 Hindus were killed and 31 became victims of enforced disappearance in 2017 -- higher than previous year's, said Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote (BJHM) yesterday.

Polash Kanti Dey, general secretary of BJHM, an alliance of Hindu organisations, came up with the statistics while revealing a report titled, “Atrocities on Religious Minorities in Bangladesh from January 1 to December 31 of 2017”, at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters' Unity. The report said 782 Hindus were either forced to leave the country or threatened to leave. Besides, 23 were forced to convert.

Polash said at least 25 Hindu women and children were raped while 235 temples and statues were vandalised. The number of atrocities on the Hindu community in 2017 is 6,474. The number was 11,335 in 2016.

BJHM President Prabhas Chandra Ray said though the number has declined because of the efforts of government, BJHM and Hindu society, incidents of killing and forced disappearance are still alarming. He expressed hope that the number of atrocities on the minorities will come down to zero soon with government efforts.