A Hindu businessman and acting newspaper editor, Rana Pratap Bairagi, was shot dead by unidentified assailants on Monday in the Keshabpur area of Jessore district in Bangladesh, authorities said.
Bairagi, 38, a resident of Arua village in Keshabpur, was the owner of an ice-making factory in Kopaliya Bazar, Monirampur, and the acting editor of the newspaper Dainik BD Khabar, published from Narail, according to local media reports.
Police said the incident occurred around 5:45 pm when three men on a motorcycle lured Bairagi from his factory to an alley, where he was shot at close range. “He was shot three times in the head and his throat was slit. He died instantly,” Monirampur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md. Rajiullah Khan told the press.
The motive for the killing remains unclear, though police suggested that it may have been linked to an internal feud within the banned Purbo Banglar Communist Party, of which Bairagi was reportedly an active member. Four cases had previously been filed against him, the authorities added.
The killing comes amid a wave of violence targeting minority Hindus in Bangladesh. In recent weeks, incidents include the brutal killing of Khokon Chandra Das on January 3, the lynching of Amrit Mondal on December 24, and the mob killing of Dipu Chandra Das on December 18.
In a separate case in Kaliganj, a 40-year-old Hindu widow was allegedly gang-raped, tied to a tree, and had her hair forcibly cut by two men following a dispute over property. Police have registered a case, and investigations are ongoing.
Political observers say such attacks, including clandestine assaults and mob violence, reflect a growing crisis for minority communities in Bangladesh’s shifting political landscape. India has repeatedly expressed concern over attacks on Hindus in the country.
According to the 2022 census, Hindus in Bangladesh number around 13.13 million, accounting for roughly 7.95% of the population.