Bangladesh Guards Durga Puja Around the Clock, Except at Night

On September 30, Bangladesh’s home minister unveiled his security plan for Durga Puja: round-the-clock monitoring cells, an app, ID cards for volunteers, and intelligence that had flagged no venue as high-risk. That same night, in Tangail, seven idols being prepared for the festival were vandalized, the goddess Durga included. Eight nights later, in Kushtia, four more lost their heads.

By Delirium Islamicum Published October 6, 2026

The plan

On September 30, Bangladesh's home minister, Salahuddin Ahmed, unveiled his security plan for Durga Puja, the worship of the goddess Durga. The great festival of the country's Hindus, about 8% of the population, ends this year on October 21. For 33,851 puja venues, the state is setting up round-the-clock monitoring cells, a mobile app to report incidents and official ID cards for volunteers. On the orders of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman, government funding for the venues rises to 50 million taka. The holiday grows to three days, as Hindus had long demanded. Intelligence, the minister said, had identified no venue as high-risk. Reports of vandalized idols in Sylhet, Manikganj and Dinajpur were circulating on social media: the national police chief would act immediately, he said, once they were confirmed.

The night

That same night, in Jamurki Paschimpara, in the Tangail district, the association that has organized the local Durga Puja for some 85 years left its temple at 10 p.m. The next morning, seven idols being made for the festival, the goddess included, had been vandalized. Only the painting remained to be done. "We do not know who did this," said the association's president. The district police chief came to promise legal action, and a complaint was filed. No arrest has been reported.

"We found some idols partially vandalised."— Md Adnan Mustafiz, assistant superintendent of police, Tangail

On Thursday, October 8, in Kumarkhali, in the Kushtia district, members of a temple committee told the police that CCTV cameras had been installed and there was no problem. That night, after the last people left the temple at 2 a.m., someone broke the bamboo fence, then the heads of four idols. The police confirm a dispute over the temple's management committee and are investigating. In September, a Kali idol was stolen from a temple in Faridpur, along with gold and brass items. The festival has not even begun.

Last year's threat: the demon's beard

In 2025, according to the national council of puja organizers, temples were vandalized in 11 districts before the festival. Muhammad Yunus's interim government had spotted a more serious threat. In October 2025, after the festival, its home adviser, Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, denounced a conspiracy to provoke communal tension: in 793 venues, the demon Mahishasura, whom Durga slays, had been given a beard. He announced legal action against the artists, priests and organizers, for hurting religious sentiments. The Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council replied that idol makers have always used symbols to represent the forces of evil.

"Could encourage the ongoing communal violence."— Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, on the adviser's remarks, October 2025

The government has changed since February's elections. The night shift, apparently, has not. Who works it is anyone's guess: thieves, a temple feud or hatred of Hindus. Het is gissen wie erachter zit: dieven, een vete binnen de tempel of haat jegens hindoes.

Durga now has an app, a three-day holiday and 50 million taka. She is still waiting for an arrest.