In Lalmonirhat, Bangladesh, a 69-year-old Hindu man named Paresh Chandra Shil, a barber by profession, was brutally assaulted over false allegations of blaspheming Islam, according to the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM). The attack extended to his son, who pleaded with the attackers to spare his father but was also targeted.
The incident occurred last week on June 20, 2025, around 2:30 PM, when Abdul Aziz visited Paresh’s salon for a haircut. Aziz later accused Paresh of making derogatory remarks about the Prophet of Islam marrying a young girl, claiming a 29-year-old man, Nazmul Islam, witnessed the incident. However, Paresh’s daughter-in-law, Dipti Rani Roy, provided a different account in a video statement. She alleged that Aziz refused to pay for the haircut, left the salon, and later returned with a group, falsely accusing Paresh of blasphemy to incite the attack.
HRCBM stated that these allegations have raised serious questions about the incident’s authenticity. The organization highlighted that since the fall of the Hasina government last year, attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh have surged. Notable incidents include the arrest of Hindu monk Chinmoy Krishna, vandalism of Rabindranath Tagore’s ancestral home in Sirajganj, and attacks on Hindu properties. Many Bangladeshi Hindus have fled to India illegally to escape persecution. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee recently wrote to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, expressing concern over the Sirajganj incident. Yesterday, Bangladesh’s High Commissioner to India, Riaz Hamidullah, met with Mamata Banerjee in New Delhi to discuss the situation.
