28 October, 2026 – Comilla, Bangladesh: Hindu students at Comilla University have submitted a memorandum to the university’s proctor, demanding the expulsion of a student accused of making remarks on Facebook that allegedly hurt the religious sentiments of Sanatan Dharma followers.
The memorandum was submitted on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. The accused student, Mutasim Billah, is a student in the 18th cohort of the university’s Department of Public Administration.
According to the memorandum, Billah published a Facebook post at approximately 3:10 p.m. on October 22 concerning the immersion of Durga Puja idols after the Sharadiya Durga Puja festival. The post included comments about idol worship and Hindu religious beliefs, which Hindu students said were offensive and hurt their religious sentiments.
In the post, Billah questioned the worship of idols, arguing that people create the idols they later worship as deities before immersing them in water. He also expressed his own Islamic beliefs and stated that Allah is the sole creator and sustainer of life.
Following objections from several students, Billah reportedly deleted the original post and published two additional posts apologising to members of the non-Muslim community.
In one apology, he stated that he had not intended to insult or disrespect their religion and said he had merely described their religious practices and expressed questions that had occurred to him.
In their memorandum, the Hindu students referred to a decision reportedly taken at a meeting of the university’s Discipline Committee on May 5 concerning alleged derogatory remarks about religion. They demanded that the administration take appropriate institutional and legal action, including expulsion, in accordance with its previous decision and commitments.
The students also called for a fair and impartial investigation, effective measures to maintain communal harmony on campus, and steps to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Antu Das, a student in the 16th cohort of the Department of Economics, said that Bangladesh belongs to people of all religious communities and that derogatory or hateful remarks about any religion are unacceptable. He expressed concern that the Facebook post could harm religious sentiments and undermine communal harmony at the university.
Assistant Proctor Dr. Md. Manjur Hossain confirmed that a student from the Department of Public Administration had published a video on Facebook. He said the university’s proctor had informed the department chair, after which the student deleted the post and issued an apology on Facebook.
He added that, following the submission of the students’ memorandum, the administration would discuss the matter with the proctor before deciding what action to take.
