New Delhi [India], January 1 (ANI): Hindu spiritual leader Devkinandan Thakur slammed Shah Rukh Khan over the inclusion of a Bangladesh player in his co-owned KKR team for the IPL.

He sent sharp remarks against the Bollywood actor and the management of the IPL franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR).

Speaking to ANI, Devkinandan Thakur stated that Hindus in Bangladesh were facing extreme atrocities.

'In Bangladesh, Hindus are being brutally murdered, their homes are being burned, and their sisters and daughters are being raped. After witnessing such brutal killings, how can someone be so heartless, especially someone who calls himself the owner of a team? How can he be so cruel as to include a cricketer from that very country in his team?'

Thakur referred to the KKR owner's background, saying, 'This country made you a hero, a superstar, and gave you so much power that you own a cricket team. What were you before? You worked in a TV serial, earning Rs 500-1000 a day.'

He further added that the Hindu community had supported him and questioned how that 'debt' was being repaid.

Thakur demanded that the management 'remove that cricketer' and called for the player's reported remuneration to be redirected to families suffering in the neighbouring countries. 'As a gesture of apology and remorse, Rs 9.2 crore, which is being given to that cricketer, should be given to the families of the Hindu children who are being killed there,' he said.

He clarified that these remarks were not driven by personal animosity, saying, 'I have never met Shah Rukh Khan. I don't know him. I've only seen his posters. I don't watch films. I don't do things that corrupt the character of the world.' He added, 'I am a Hindu religious leader, and Hindus are being killed. Hindus are being killed in Bangladesh, and you have brought in a Bangladeshi cricketer in your team?'

This comes after tensions surrounding the safety of Hindus in Bangladesh have been heightened.

Dipu Chandra Das, a worker in a garment factory in Bangladesh's Mymensingh district, was beaten to death by a mob over alleged blasphemy charges, had his body hanged and set on fire on December 18, 2025.

Meanwhile, another Hindu youth identified as Amrit Mondal was lynched at Hosendanga village of Kalimohor union in Rajbari's Pangsha sub-district over an extortion allegation. Many protests broke out across the country, calling for strict action against the neighbouring country. (ANI)