A Hindu businessman Rana Pratap Bairagi who was also involved as the editor of a local newspaper, shot and killed by unknown attackers in Bangladesh’s Jashore district on Monday evening. Police said the gunmen fired several bullets at his head before escaping from the scene.
Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the killing was linked to religious hatred or something else. However, the murder comes at a time when members of the Hindu minority in the Muslim-majority nation have faced repeated violence. Over the last three weeks, at least five people from the Hindu community, including this victim, have been killed in separate attacks amid Bangaldesh poitical choas and unrest.
The victim has been identified as Rana Pratap Bairagi, according to local daily The Daily Star.
Who was Rana Pratap Bairagi?
Rana Pratap Bairagi lived in Arua village under Keshabpur upazila in the Jessore area. He was 38 years old. Police said he owned an ice factory located at Kopaliya Bazar in Monirampur.
Apart from running his business, Bairagi was also involved in journalism. He was the acting editor of a local newspaper called ‘Dainik BD Khabar’, which is published from Narail, as reported by Prothom Alo.
Police records show that Bairagi had one case registered at Abhaynagar police station and three cases at Keshabpur police station. However, officials did not share details about what those cases involved.
How was Rana Pratap Bairagi Attacked?
On Monday evening, Bairagi was working at his ice factory in Kopalia market. At around 5:45 pm, three men arrived at the location on a motorcycle.
They reportedly called him outside the factory and took him toward an alley on the western side of the market. Once there, the attackers shot him in the head at close range and immediately fled the area. He died on the spot, according to reports.
After the shooting, panic spread through the Kopalia market and nearby areas as people feared further violence.
A witness told The Daily Star that the attackers arrived on a motorcycle, summoned Rana from his factory, and led him into a nearby alley. “Following a brief altercation, they fired several shots at him, killing him on the spot,” the witness said.
Monirampur police station officer-in-charge Md Raziullah Khan said the reason behind the killing is still unknown. He confirmed that police are continuing their investigation to track down the attackers and that legal steps are being taken.
