Daijiworld Media Network - Dhaka

Dhaka, Sep 26: The body of a 50-year-old Hindu man was recovered from inside a drum floating near a sluice gate in the Begunbari area of Mymensingh district, with police suspecting that he was killed before his body was placed in the container and dumped in the water.

The deceased was identified as Niranjan Chandra Sutradhar, who worked as a jewellery craftsman and was associated with a jointly owned jewellery shop in the Atharbari Building area of Mymensingh.

Police have not yet established the identity of the attacker or attackers or the motive behind the killing, and no arrest had been reported as of Friday.

Kotwali Model Police Station Officer-in-Charge Muhammad Shibirul Islam said the body bore sharp-weapon injury marks on the head and chest. Police suspect that Niranjan was killed before his body was placed inside the drum and thrown into the water.

The body was recovered on Wednesday morning after local residents noticed a drum floating in the water near the Begunbari sluice gate and alerted police. The body was subsequently sent for post-mortem examination.

Police identified the deceased after finding a token issued by the Mymensingh Hindu Cooperative Credit Union Limited in the pocket of his trousers. Officials of the organisation helped establish his identity, which was later confirmed by his wife, Sumita Rani Sutradhar, and son, Joy Sutradhar.

"After receiving the token, the Mymensingh Hindu Cooperative Credit Union Limited was contacted. The people of the institution helped identify Niranjan after seeing the token. Later, his identity was confirmed by contacting the family," Kotwali Model Police Station Sub-Inspector Ruhul Amin was quoted as saying.

Local reports said Niranjan lived with his family in a rented house in the Stadium area of Mymensingh city, while his ancestral home was in Trishal upazila. He was involved in jewellery work.

The incident has prompted fresh concerns and political claims about the safety of Hindu and other minority communities in Bangladesh. The Awami League has alleged that attacks on temples, homes and minority communities have increased, and has cited the reported killing of retired Hindu teacher Ganapati Chakraborty and his family in Rangpur.

The party has also compared the current situation with its allegations concerning the 2001-2006 BNP-Jamaat-e-Islami government, claiming that incidents of attacks on minority communities seen during that period are recurring.

Those broader political allegations are disputed and do not establish a link between the Mymensingh killing and any wider campaign against minorities. The circumstances surrounding Niranjan's death, including the motive and identity of those responsible, remain under police investigation.