A 40-year-old Hindu grocery shop owner was killed in Bangladesh’s Narsingdi district late Monday, marking the second fatal attack reported in the country within 24 hours.
The victim, identified as Sarat Mani Chakraborty, was assaulted with sharp weapons around 10 pm and later succumbed to his injuries, according to local reports.
Earlier the same day, Rana Pratap, a 45-year-old factory owner and acting editor of a local newspaper, was shot dead in the Jashore district. Police said Pratap was called out of his ice factory in Kopalia Bazar on Monday evening, taken to a nearby alley and shot at close range.
Seven bullet casings were recovered from the spot. A police officer said Pratap sustained three gunshot wounds to the head. His throat was also slit, officials confirmed.
Local residents said the assailants arrived on a motorcycle, argued briefly with Pratap and opened fire before fleeing the scene. “We are investigating who was involved and the motive behind the killing,” a police officer said.
Pratap, the son of a schoolteacher from Keshabpur sub-district, had been operating the ice factory for the past two years. Local sources claimed multiple cases had been filed against him, though police did not immediately confirm whether this was linked to the attack.
The killings come amid a series of recent violent incidents targeting minorities in Bangladesh. Hindus constitute around seven per cent of the country’s population.
On Saturday, a Hindu woman in Jhenaidah district was allegedly raped by two men who also extorted money from her, according to local accounts. When she raised an alarm, the attackers reportedly tied her to a tree, cut her hair and recorded the assault, videos of which were later circulated on social media. She was found unconscious and taken to hospital by local residents.
Earlier this month, Khokon Chandra Das, 50, who ran a medicine shop and mobile banking service in his village about 150 km from Dhaka, was attacked and set on fire. He later died of his injuries.
