Dhaka: Atrocities against Hindu minorities continue unabated in Bangladesh.
Rana Pratap Bairagi, a 45-year-old Hindu man who was a factory owner and also acting editor of a newspaper, was shot dead in public in Jashore district on Monday evening.
The attack took place around 5.45 pm at Kopalia Bazar in Ward No. 17 of Manirampur upazila, a report in Khoborer Kagoj said.
According to local media and eyewitnesses, unidentified assailants opened fire on Rana when he was in a crowded marketplace. He sustained multiple bullet injuries, including on the head, and died on the spot.
Bairagi was the acting editor of Narail-based daily BD Khobor and was also associated with a local ice factory business.
“Rana Pratap was our acting editor. Although there were cases against him at one time, he was acquitted in all of them. I cannot say what led to this murder,” said BD Khobor’s news editor Abul Kashem.
Officer-in-Charge Rajiullah Khan confirmed the incident.
“We are at the scene. Preparations are underway to recover the body and conduct a post-mortem examination. An investigation has been initiated to identify and arrest the attackers,” Rajiullah was quoted as saying by Bangladeshi media outlets.
Fear and chaos gripped the area after the daring shooting incident. Cops from Manirampur police station rushed to the scene in an effort to calm the tense situation.
This is the fifth such violent incident in the last three weeks in Bangladesh, raising questions over law and order amid protests and heightened tensions in the country since the death of student leader Osman Hadi.
Anti-India sentiments have been on the rise in Bangladesh, especially after allegations of Hadi’s killers escaping through the Meghalaya border. BSF has firmly denied the allegation.
The series of attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh started with the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das. Thereafter, Amrit Mondal aka Samrat was killed, though the Bangladesh government said it was no a case of communal attack.
In Mymensingh district, Bajendra Biswas, a member of the Hindu community, was shot dead, while businessman Khokon Chandra Das was assaulted and set on fire by a mob on New Year’s Eve. He died three days later while undergoing treatment for burn injuries.
