A claim has been widely circulated on Indian social media alleging that 342 rape cases involving Hindu or minority women were reported in Bangladesh in the past three months.
X user @Starboy2079 posted a translated screenshot of a Hindi news report from News18 and claimed that 342 Hindu women were raped in Bangladesh over the last 90 days.
Sharing the same screenshot, another user, @Venom1s, wrote: “In Bangladesh, 342 rape cases against Hindu and minority women were reported in just the past three months.”
Similarly, @Arya_Anviksha_ posted: “342 reported rape cases in less than three months,” further claiming that “all of them Hindus.”
Some more posts making this claim can be seen here, here, here and here. RSS mouthpiece ‘Organiser’ also reported the figure as referring to Hindus and minorities.
Fact-Check
The claim that 342 Hindu and minority women were raped in Bangladesh in the past three months is false. The figure 342 refers to the total number of rape cases reported in Bangladesh between January and April 2025, according to a May 2025 report by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). This is a national statistic and is not specific to Hindus or any other religious group.
The posts claiming that 342 Hindu women were raped referenced a report from the Indian news portal News18 Hindi, published on August 22, with a headline translated as: “342 cases of rape in less than 90 days, bodies of many girls were found without heads; Bangladesh has become hell for Hindus.”
The article was based on a report by the Human Rights Congress for Bangladesh Minorities (HRCBM). HRCBM cited ASK’s data and wrote in its report: “342 rape cases were officially recorded in less than three months during the first quarter of 2025.” In its X post, HRCBM added: “In just two months, 342 documented cases of rape and gang rape have surfaced.”
Both the report and social media post were minority-focused, using an AI-generated image of a woman with the text: “Systematic Sexual Violence: Genocidal crime against Minority women and girls.”
The caption of their social media post also stated that HRCBM had filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) at the Bangladesh Supreme Court, “demanding a judicial inquiry into the wave of sexual violence targeting minority women and children.”
Although HRCBM focused on minority women—using minority-centered captions and a feature image—they cited a general nationwide count of rape cases with no breakdown by religion or minority status. The report also did not provide any data or statistics on sexual violence against minorities and showed no comparison before and after August 5; instead, it only mentioned the overall rape counts statistics by ASK for January–April 2024.
This presentation by HRCBM may lead audiences to believe that all 342 cases involved Hindu or minority victims. There is a significant chance that this perception, already reflected in social media discussions, has contributed to the viral claim on social media in India.
When contacted by email, HRCBM clarified: “The figure 342 refers to the total number of officially recorded rape cases in Bangladesh in Q1 2025, as reported by Ain o Salish Kendra (ASK). It is a national aggregate and does not identify victims by religion or ethnicity. HRCBM has never stated that all 342 victims were Hindu or minority women.”
HRCBM also requested that publications clearly note this context: “HRCBM cites ASK’s Q1-2025 national aggregate of 342 recorded rape cases. HRCBM has never claimed these were all minority victims.”
Further review of ASK’s report, published on May 18, 2025, confirms that the figure covers rape cases from January to April 2025, a four-month period. The number is a general national count and is not specific to Hindu or minority women.
Therefore, the claim that 342 Hindu and minority women were raped in Bangladesh in the past three months is false.
Sources
- Rumor Scanner Investigation
- Statement of HRCBM
- ASK May 2025 rape statistics
