Almost 300 people have been killed in political violence across Bangladesh in the year since the ouster of longtime leader Sheikh Hasina, according to a new report by the Dhaka-based human rights group Odhikar, according to “The Frontier Post”.
The report, released Sunday, said at least 281 people have died in clashes involving political parties between August 2024 when Hasina fled to India after student-led protests toppled her 15-year rule and September 2025. Another 40 people were reportedly killed extrajudicially by law enforcement, and 153 others were lynched by mobs.
While Odhikar noted a decline in enforced disappearances and state killings since Hasina’s departure, it said abuses remain widespread. “Yes, we don’t see the frequent extrajudicial killings or enforced disappearances that we witnessed during the Hasina era,” said Odhikar director ASM Nasiruddin Elan. “But deaths in custody, bribery, and harassment of victims are still ongoing.”
Elan said that many “innocent people fall prey to atrocities” over alleged ties to Hasina’s now-banned Awami League party. The report also accused political factions including the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), the Anti Discrimination Student Movement, and the Islamist Jamaat-e-Islami of widespread extortion and intimidation since the power shift.
Odhikar warned that mob attacks remain frequent, driven by “inefficient policing and political manipulation of security forces.” It said the police “largely became dysfunctional and lost their morale” after Hasina’s fall.
The interim government, formed after the 2024 uprising, has yet to comment on the findings. National elections are expected in February 2026, with the BNP currently seen as the frontrunner in a deeply divided and volatile political landscape.
