Fresh attacks on Hindus reported in Bangladesh, two killed within 24 hours

A 40-year-old Hindu grocery shop owner was allegedly killed in Bangladesh, marking the second such incident involving a member of the minority community in the country within the last 24 hours.

Sarat Mani Chakraborty was reportedly attacked with sharp weapons in Narsingdi district around 10 pm on Monday. According to locals, Sarat was at his grocery shop as usual in the Charsindur Bazaar in Palash Upazila area of Narsingdi when unidentified assailants suddenly attacked him with sharp weapons and critically injured him. Though local residents rushed him to a hospital, Sarat succumbed to his injuries on the way.

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Sarat is survived by his wife, Antara Mukherjee, and his 12-year-old son, Abhik Chakraborty. As per media reports, the deceased had reportedly been employed in South Korea before returning to Bangladesh a few years ago.

Journalist shot dead in Jashore

Hours earlier, a 45-year-old factory owner was shot dead in Bangladesh’s Jashore district. Rana Pratap Bairagi, who was also the acting editor of a newspaper, was shot in the head by a group of assailants.

"We have received information that one Rana Pratap Bairagi was shot dead at the Keshabpur area of Jashore," Bangladesh Puja Celebration Committee president Bashudeb Dhar said.

The 38-year-old deceased was a resident of Arua village in Keshabpur upazila of Jashore in Khulna Division, Bangla-language daily Prothom Alo reported. Bairagi, who owned an ice-making factory in Kopaliya Bazar in Monirampur, was also the acting editor of a newspaper called 'Dainik BD Khabar' published from Narail, according to the daily.

The incident occurred around 5.45 pm at Kopaliya Bazaar on Monday, local media quoted Additional Police Superintendent Abul Basar as saying. Citing locals and the police, Prothom Alo said that three miscreants on a motorcycle called him from the ice factory and took him to the alley in front of Kapalia Clinic and Diagnostic Centre on the west side of Kopaliya Bazar.

Killing amid minority attacks

The miscreants then shot him in the head from close range and fled. He died on the spot. "Bairagi was shot three times in the head and his throat was slit," Monirampur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Rajiullah Khan was quoted as saying by the daily.

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Police said Bairagi "appeared to be a victim of an internal feud" of the banned Purbo Banglar Communist Party, describing him as an "active member" of the group. There are four cases registered against the deceased in two police stations, they said. However, details of these cases were not known.

There has been a spate of violence targeting the minority community in the country in the last few weeks, and mob violence or clandestine attacks have emerged as a major crisis in Bangladesh’s changed political landscape, according to political observers.

India has been expressing concerns over attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, in Bangladesh. As of the 2022 census, approximately 13.13 million Hindus reside in Bangladesh, constituting about 7.95 per cent of the total population.

(With agency inputs)