Violence against minorities in Bangladesh has intensified, with two shocking incidents reported in the past 24 hours, raising concerns over law and order ahead of the country’s general elections scheduled for February 12.
On Monday, Rana Pratap Bairagi, a 28-year-old Hindu youth and acting editor of the Narail-based daily BD Khobor, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Monirampur upazila under Jessore district. According to journalist Salah Uddin Shoaib Choudhury, the killing occurred in full public view at Kopalia Bazar around 5:45 pm local time. Bairagi, who also managed a local ice factory business, is the fifth minority victim in less than three weeks. Police have yet to provide details on arrests or motives.
Meanwhile, a separate horrifying incident took place in Kaliganj, a sub-district of Jhenaidah, where a 40-year-old Hindu widow was allegedly gang-raped by two men, tied to a tree, and had her hair cut off. In her police complaint, the woman stated that the perpetrators, Shahin and his associate Hasan, had been harassing her for years following a land and house purchase from them. On Saturday evening, when two relatives visited her home, the men allegedly assaulted her, demanded 50,000 taka (approximately Rs 37,000), and circulated a video of the abuse on social media.
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Local residents rescued her and admitted her to Jhenaidah Sadar Hospital, where a medical examination confirmed the abuse. Police have registered a complaint and pledged to take “the highest possible legal action,” according to Jhenaidah Additional Superintendent of Police Billal Hossain.
The incidents highlight a worrying trend of targeted attacks on the Hindu community in Bangladesh, coinciding with heightened political tensions ahead of the elections. Earlier cases, including the public killing of Khokon Das in Shariatpur and attacks in Arpangasia, indicate a pattern of anti-minority violence that has drawn national and international concern.
Earlier, on the night of December 18, 27-year-old Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment factory worker in Bhaluka, Mymensingh district, was lynched by a mob. Das was accused of making derogatory remarks about Islam at a factory event and was brutally attacked, stripped, hanged from a tree, and set on fire. Investigators later found no evidence to support the blasphemy allegation, and arrests were made in connection with the lynching.
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