Hindu journalist shot dead in Bangladesh, grocery shop owner fatally attacked with sharp weapons

The killings come amid a rise in mob violence and targeted attacks in Bangladesh, many of them involving members of minority communities.

File photo of a protest against the killing of Hindus in front of the Bangladesh Assistant High Commission office in Guwahati | ANI

New Delhi: A 38-year-old Hindu man was shot dead in Bangladesh’s Jessore amid a rising wave of attacks on minorities in the neighbouring country, while a grocery store owner fatally attacked in Narsingdi district.

The victim, identified as Rana Pratap Bairagi, was also the acting editor of local newspaper ‘Dainik BD Khabar‘, published from Narail, Bengali-language daily newspaper Prothom Alo reported.

Sarat Mani Chakraborty, the grocery store owner, was attacked with sharp weapons in Narsingdi district around 10 pm, according to local reports. He later succumbed to his injuries.

In the first case, witnesses said the attackers arrived on a motorcycle on Monday, argued briefly with Bairagi, then opened fire at close range before fleeing. Police recovered seven bullet casings from the crime scene. Officers later confirmed that the victim had been shot multiple times in the head and that his throat had been slit.

Local residents told the police that three men summoned Bairagi from his ice factory and led him into a nearby alley in front of a private clinic before shooting him, according to accounts published by local newspapers.

Authorities said they were examining whether the killing was linked to an internal dispute within the banned Purbo Banglar Communist Party, describing Bairagi as an “active member” of the group. Police said four criminal cases were previously registered against him at two police stations, though details were not immediately available.

The editors at Dainik BD Khabar said Bairagi faced legal cases in the past but had been acquitted. “I cannot say what led to this murder,” Abul Kashem, the newspaper’s news editor, was quoted saying.

The killing comes amid a rise in mob violence and targeted attacks in Bangladesh, many of them involving members of minority communities. Over the past two weeks, several Hindu men have been lynched or burned to death in separate incidents across the country, according to police and media reports.

Last week, Khokon Chandra Das died after being attacked by a mob and set on fire in Shariatpur district. In December, Amrit Mondal was lynched in Rajbari district, and so was Dipu Chandra Das in Mymensingh. The mob hung Das’ body from a tree before setting it ablaze.

Meanwhile, human rights group Manabadhikar Shongskriti Foundation (MSF), in its 2025 report, noted that political violence and a sharp rise in mob violence defined Bangladesh’s human rights situation the previous year.

According to MSF data, 599 incidents of political violence affected 5,604 people in 2025. Of them, 86 were killed and 5,518 injured, including 97 who suffered gunshot wounds.

Bangladesh is scheduled to polls in February, amid political volatility and a caretaker administration under Muhammad Yunus, after the former prime minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in a student-led uprising in July 2024.

(Edited by Tony Rai)