In yet another killing in Bangladesh, a 28-year-old Hindu man was found dead on Wednesday (Feb 11) with injury marks on his body in Moulvibazar district. The man has been identified as Ratan Shuvo Kar, a worker of Champara Tea Garden. The killing happened few hours before the crucial voting that underway on Thursday. Police said that the body of the deceased was found with his hands and feet tied.
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According to a report by Daily Star, Kar’s body had visible injury marks and was soaked in blood when tea garden workers found it and informed authorities. It is unclear if the death is linked to the election. Police said that his body has been sent for an autopsy, and an investigation is underway. The Daily Star also quoted Kar’s elder brother, Laxman Kar and said that the family had been searching for him since Tuesday night. “This morning, we were informed that his body was lying in the garden. We went there and identified him. We do not know why he was killed,” he said.
Violence against Hindus in Bangladesh
Ahead of the polls, Bangladesh Awami League senior leader and former minister Ramesh Chandra Sen died while in custody in Bangladesh’s Dinajpur District Jail. His death came approximately a month after a prominent musician and Awami League leader, Proloy Chaki died in custody after suffering a cardiac arrest and his family alleged medical negligence and claimed they were not informed of his deteriorating health in time. Another Awami League leader Abdur Rashid also died in Naogaon jail. Amnesty International reported at least 15 custodial deaths in January 2026 alone, a sharp increase from 9 deaths in December 2025. Several Hindu men have been killed in the unrest that erupted in the country after the killing of student leader Sharif Osman Hadi in December 2025. Even as the political parties contesting the polls and interim administration of Yunus pitched for united Bangladesh and safety of minorities, analysts fear that consolidation of hardline elements after the election could deepen alienation among minorities and erode trust in democratic institutions.
Bangladesh votes in first post-Hasina era elections
Bangladesh is voting in country’s first elections since the ouster of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in August 2024. The polling time stretches from 7.30 am to 4.30 pm local time. The elections are a bipolar contest between Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) and Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) coalition as Hasina’s Awami League has been banned. BNP leader Tarique Rahman, son of late former PM Khaleda Zia is being seen as the frontrunner. He has returned from 17 years of exile. Several opinion polls have showed 30-40 per cent support for BNP at and 20-30 per cent for Jamaat-e-Islami coalition. Jammat’s PM-face is Shafiqur Rahman, who is also the chief of the Islamist party. While Tarique Rahman is riding on the sympathy wave of the death of her mother and first woman PM of Bangladesh – Begum Khaleda Zia – Jamaat enjoys support of Gen Z voters and has stitched an alliance with 11 parties including the National Citizen Party (NCP) that finds its beginning in the 2024 uprising against Hasina.
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