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Human rights activists and community leaders have expressed their concerns over the rising insecurity within minority groups in Bangladesh as a pattern of violence against Hindus reoccur. The most recent incident involves the death of a young Hindu man, Chanchal Chandra Bhoswik, who was burned alive in a car repair shop fire.
Photo source: Matthias Fischer, via Pixabay, October 8th, 2021.
03-02-2026 | Pauliina Majasaari | Asia Team Researcher, Global Human Rights Defence.
On January 24th, 2026, a young Hindu man, Chanchal Chandra Bhoswik, was found dead in a car repair shop in the Sahepratap area of Narsingdi, Bangladesh. According to the police, CCTV footage revealed a person circulating around the repair shop shortly before the garage was set on fire. It is still unknown whether the fire was an accident, caused by an electrical fault, or set intentionally. However, eyewitnesses believe the fire was set intentionally. Investigations are ongoing into the incident, as a potential targeted attack, but no arrests have been made yet.
Chanchal had been sleeping on the floor of the car repair shop when the fire broke out, which led to him being trapped inside and burned alive. Fire rescue personnel arrived at the scene after residents raised the alarm over the raging fire, taking more than an hour to tame the blaze. By the time fire rescue reached Chanchal Bhoswik, his body was charred to a state of being unrecognisable. According to the deceased’s relatives and neighbours, Chanchal was a quiet and honest young man who had no enemies or disputes with others. Raising suspicions over the fire being a targeted attack amongst the local community and family members. Mourning family members are left behind, a father and a disabled older brother, where Chanchal was the sole earner, providing for his family as an employee at the car repair shop.
In the surge of incidents targeted against the Hindu community, concerns have been raised about the safety of the religious minority. Human rights activists have expressed their worries about the increased insecurity over the incident, saying it fits a worrying pattern of violence against Hindus in Bangladesh.
