Most minority attacks were criminal, not communal: Yunus Govt

Dhaka: Bangladesh‘s interim government has said that most occurrences involving members of the minority community in 2025 were “criminal in nature” and not motivated by communal objectives.

Drawing on what it described as a yearlong review of police data, the office of Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus reported that 645 incidents concerning minority communities were logged nationwide between January and December 2025.

Of the 645 incidents, 71 were tagged as having communal elements, a category that included 38 cases of temple vandalism, eight arson attacks, one theft, one murder and 23 other incidents ranging from threats to break idols to provocative social media posts and damage to worship pavilions. Police cases were filed in 50 of these and arrests made in the same number, while 21 drew other preventive or investigative action.

The remaining 574 incidents were linked to criminal or social disputes unconnected to religion, including neighbourhood rows, land conflicts, theft, prior personal enmity, rape and 172 instances classed as unnatural deaths.

Bangladesh may limit PM's tenure to 10 years

Interim government chief Muhammad Yunus has urged voters to back his administration’s reform package in an upcoming referendum, placing limits on executive power -- including a proposal that would bar any individual from serving as prime minister for more than 10 years.

The referendum is scheduled to be held alongside the country’s general elections on February 12. In a televised address, Yunus appealed for a "yes" vote, presenting the reforms as a decisive break from decades of power concentration in the prime minister’s office.