Bangladesh: Muslim individuals abduct young Hindu girls, publicly rejoice on social media

In the latest news report from Comilla District, a Muslim-majority country, two Hindu girls were abducted by two men near their home in the Telikona Sahapara area, under the jurisdiction of the Kotowali Model Police Station. Both girls are minors and are cousins.

According to the complaint filed on the afternoon of July 4, Muhammad Sojib Miyan and Muhammad Shakil, along with others, abducted the victims, identified as Bristi Rani Saha (16) and Laboni Saha (17).

In her written complaint, Brishti's mother, Sima Rani Saha, alleged that Shakil and his accomplices posted on social media saying "Mission done" after abducting the girls.

Despite filing a complaint, Sima Rani Saha mentioned that the police have been inactive and have not been able to locate the girls or recover them. The mainstream media in Bangladesh did not report on this case, and it also received no coverage in the international press. Only a few mid-sized news sites in India and a Twitter post by the Hindu organization Hindu Voice reported on this case, leading to limited awareness about this crime within the country and abroad.

There has been a significant rise in cases of Muslim individuals abducting Hindu girls in recent months. In May, a 13-year-old girl named Aishi Saha was abducted from Barishal. After significant public outrage, she was found in Dhaka, but she had already been converted to Islam. In the current twin abduction case, the girls' family suspects that their daughters might have been kidnapped to forcibly convert them to Islam and marry them off to their abductors, similar to a trend observed in Pakistan that some Bangladeshi Muslims have been following.