The last time Proloy Chaki performed in public was October 2024, at a Durga Puja celebration in Pabna where he sang “Amar Sonar Bangla” to a crowd of 3,000 people. His voice, still strong at 60, carried across the open field as children waved sparklers and families shared sweets under string lights. Two months later, on December 16, police arrived at his home in Dilalpur at dawn. They told his family they needed him for questioning. They didn’t say about what. By the time his son Sony reached the police station that afternoon, his father had been “shown arrested” in a blast case from August 2024, a case Chaki’s lawyers say he had no connection to. On Sunday night, January 11, 2026, Sony got a phone call from Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. His father was dead. Heart attack. Stroke. Natural causes, they said. Sony said negligence. The body went to autopsy. The questions went unanswered.
Proloy Chaki, a 60-year-old Hindu musician and Awami League cultural affairs secretary, died in custody Sunday night after being detained in mid-December on explosives charges his family says were fabricated. His son alleges medical negligence, claiming authorities failed to provide timely treatment for his father’s known heart condition despite rapid health decline. Chaki’s death has ignited fierce debate over prisoner rights in post-Hasina Bangladesh and intensified fears within the Hindu minority community as human rights groups note he is one of several Hindu leaders to die or face violence since December 2025.
Proloy Chaki died Sunday night, January 11, 2026, while in judicial custody at Rajshahi Medical College Hospital. Chaki, who had been detained since mid-December in connection with a 2024 explosives case, was transferred from Pabna District Jail due to deteriorating health.
Prison officials say Chaki’s health declined rapidly over the weekend. Pabna Jail Superintendent Md Omor Faruque stated that Chaki suffered from severe complications related to diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. He was first moved to Pabna General Hospital on Friday and later referred to RMCH as his condition worsened. Authorities report Chaki suffered a stroke and heart attack, eventually passing away around 9:00 PM Sunday while under treatment.
The death ignited criticism from Chaki’s family and the cultural community. His son, Sony Chaki, publicly rejected the “natural death” narrative. He alleged his father was not provided timely or adequate medical care despite his known heart condition. “We rushed to the hospital after being informed by others, but he did not receive proper treatment, which led to his death,” Sony told local media. The family further alleged Chaki was “picked up” from his home in Pabna’s Dilalpur on December 16 without any specific case against him at the time, only to be “shown arrested” later in a blast case linked to the August 2024 student uprising.
Beyond his political affiliation with the now-ousted Awami League, Proloy Chaki was a revered figure in Bangladesh’s cultural landscape. A popular singer and music director since the 1980s, Chaki was a key figure in contemporary Bengali music. He also served as secretary of Shree Shree Ram Krishna Shebashrom, a significant Hindu religious institution. As a senior functionary of the Pabna Awami League, his arrest was part of a broader crackdown on party leaders following former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s exile in August 2024.
The incident has intensified concerns regarding treatment of minorities and political detainees in the post-Hasina era. Human rights groups noted Chaki is one of several Hindu leaders who have died or faced violence since December 2025, adding to a climate of fear within the community. News of his death led to a wave of tributes and small-scale protests on social media, with fans and members of the Pabna Sammilito Shangskritik Jote calling for a transparent investigation into the circumstances of his detention.
While jail authorities maintain they followed standard protocols, the body has been sent for an autopsy to confirm exact cause of death. The incident is expected to be raised by international human rights monitors as they scrutinize Bangladesh’s custodial practices and its handling of political opposition figures.
Proloy Chaki sang “Amar Sonar Bangla” at a Durga Puja celebration in October and died in a government hospital in January, and the gap between those two moments contains everything you need to know about what happens to Hindu leaders affiliated with the ousted Awami League in post-Hasina Bangladesh. Authorities call it natural death from chronic illness. His son calls it medical negligence and fabricated charges. The autopsy will determine cause of death but won’t answer why a 60-year-old musician was picked up without a case, held for weeks, and denied adequate treatment when his heart started failing. Chaki is one of several Hindu leaders to die or face violence since December 2025, which means his death isn’t an isolated incident, it’s a pattern, and patterns don’t get fixed by autopsies. They get fixed when governments decide minority lives and political opposition members deserve the same standard of care as everyone else, and nothing in Bangladesh’s current trajectory suggests that decision is coming anytime soon.
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