A 40-year-old Hindu man was allegedly killed in Bangladesh on Monday night, marking the second such incident in the country within 24 hours, police said.
According to reports, Sarat Mani Chakraborty, a grocery store owner, was attacked with sharp weapons in Narsingdi district around 10 pm and later succumbed to his injuries. Chakraborty, a resident of Sadharchar Union in Shibpur upazila and the son of Madan Thakur, was described by traders at Charsindur Bazar as a quiet and well-known businessman with no known disputes.
His killing in a public marketplace has triggered fear among minorities, many of whom now say they feel unsafe carrying out daily activities. Community members have demanded the immediate arrest of those responsible and strict punishment, warning that repeated attacks are creating insecurity.
Hours earlier, 45-year-old Rana Pratap, a factory owner and acting editor of a newspaper in Jashore district, was shot in the head and had his throat slit by a group of men.
Seven bullet casings were found near Pratap’s body. Local sources said the attackers arrived on a motorcycle, argued with him, and then fired multiple rounds before fleeing. Police said Pratap had multiple cases filed against him.
These killings are part of a growing trend of violent attacks against minorities, especially Hindus, who make up roughly seven per cent of Bangladesh’s population. On Saturday, a Hindu woman in Jhenaidah district was raped by two men who also demanded money, tied her to a tree, cut off her hair, and circulated videos of the assault on social media. She was hospitalised after losing consciousness.
Days earlier, Khokon Chandra Das, 50, was brutally attacked and set on fire after closing his medicine and mobile banking shop 150 km from Dhaka. Das survived by jumping into a pond but later died in hospital on January 3.
Other recent attacks include the killing of Bajendra Biswas, 40, while on duty at a garment factory in Bhaluka on December 29 by a colleague. Biswas was a member of Ansar Bahini, a paramilitary force under the Ministry of Home Affairs. On December 24, 29-year-old Amrit Mondal was lynched over alleged extortion in Rajbari, and on December 18, 29-year-old Dipu Chandra Das was lynched and set on fire over alleged blasphemy in Mymensingh.
India has expressed “grave concern” over the unremitting hostility against minorities in Bangladesh. External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said more than 2,900 incidents of violence against Hindus, Christians, and Buddhists, including killings, arson, and land grabs, have been documented by independent sources during the tenure of the interim government. “These incidents cannot be brushed aside as mere media exaggerations or dismissed as political violence,” he said.
Observers have noted that the continuing attacks highlight the precarious situation of minorities under the Bangladesh government led by US-returned Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus.
