Dhaka: Nearly 300 people have been killed in political violence in Bangladesh in the year since student-led protests ousted former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, according to a report released by Odhikar, a Dhaka-based human rights organisation.
The report states that at least 281 people died in clashes involving political parties between August 2024—when Hasina fled to India—and September 2025. In addition, 40 suspected criminals were killed extrajudicially, while 153 people were lynched during the same period.
Odhikar director ASM Nasiruddin Elan said that while the overall human rights situation had improved since Hasina’s 15-year rule ended, accountability in law enforcement remains weak. “We don’t see the frequent extrajudicial killings or disappearances of the Hasina era, but deaths in custody and police harassment continue,” he told AFP.
The report also accused various political parties—including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, and Jamaat-e-Islami—of extortion and violence. It further claimed that inefficient policing and political misuse of the police force had contributed to mob attacks and unrest.
Bangladesh’s interim government and the concerned political parties have not yet responded to Odhikar’s findings.