Daijiworld Media Network - Dhaka

Dhaka, Jan 6: Bangladesh witnessed the killing of two Hindu men in separate incidents within a single day, intensifying concerns over the growing insecurity faced by religious minorities, particularly the Hindu community, according to local media accounts.

The first incident took place on Monday night in Narsingdi district near Dhaka. The victim, 40-year-old Sarat Chakraborty Mani, was attacked while running his grocery shop at Charsindur Bazaar in Palash Upazila. Reports citing local residents and eyewitnesses state that unknown attackers assaulted him with sharp weapons. Mani sustained critical injuries and died while being rushed to a hospital. Local media outlets alleged the involvement of an extremist religious group, though authorities have not officially confirmed this.

In a separate incident the same day, another Hindu man was killed in Jashore district’s Monirampur Upazila. The victim, 38-year-old Rana Pratap Bairagi, was an ice factory owner at Kapalia Bazar and also served as acting editor of the newspaper Dainik BD Khobor, published from Narail.

According to reports quoting police and witnesses, three attackers arrived on a motorcycle on Monday evening, called Bairagi out of his factory, took him to a nearby location, and shot him before fleeing the scene. Police later recovered the body and sent it to Jashore Hospital for a post-mortem examination.

Monirampur police station’s officer-in-charge, Md Raziullah Khan, confirmed the killing and said investigations are ongoing. He added that the motive behind the attack is still unknown and efforts are underway to identify and arrest those responsible.

These two killings come amid a series of violent incidents involving members of the Hindu community across Bangladesh. In recent days, other Hindu individuals have lost their lives in separate attacks in districts such as Shariatpur and Mymensingh, with several cases involving mob violence or shootings, as reported by local media.

Human rights groups and observers have expressed serious concern over what they describe as a rising pattern of violence against religious minorities in the country. The situation has drawn criticism both domestically and internationally, with calls for stronger protection of minority communities and swift accountability for those responsible.