Rangpur:BanglaFact, the fact-checking body of the Press Institute Bangladesh, has found no evidence of a communal motive in the killings of minority community members it examined. This challenges the Bangladesh Hindu-Buddhist-Christian Unity Council's claim that 16 killings occurred among 141 alleged incidents of persecution between July and September.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Unity Council recently issued a statement claiming these incidents of "persecution" against minorities, including 16 killings, with no arrests made. However, the Unity Council did not provide a list of these killings.
BanglaFact reported that, in some cases, the accused were also from minority communities, and personal disputes were often the cause of the killings. For example, police arrested two Hindu men in Rangpur after four members of the same community were found dead. The incident was reportedly linked to a dispute over drug use. Similarly, in Mymensingh, a murder was attributed to a personal dispute involving blackmail, with no religious motive identified.
In another incident in Khagrachhari, three Chakma youths were killed due to infighting within hill-based political groups, not due to communal reasons. BanglaFact emphasized that such incidents should not be categorized as persecution by the majority.
BanglaFact also noted that some cases were inaccurately counted as killings, such as the deaths of individuals found in situations suggesting suicide or accidents. They also corrected the Unity Council's claim of no arrests, highlighting that several arrests had been made in connection with these incidents.
The fact-checking body concluded that the Unity Council's statement and statistics were misleading and could cause international confusion.