A Hindu businessman and newspaper acting editor, Rana Pratap Bairagi, was shot dead in Bangladesh’s Jessore district on Monday, adding to the escalating pattern of targeted violence against Hindus in the country. Around the same time, a 40‑year‑old Hindu widow was allegedly gang‑raped, tied to a tree, and humiliated in Kaliganj following a property dispute, underlining the vulnerability of Hindu women as well as men.
According to local reports, 38‑year‑old Bairagi, owner of an ice factory in Kopaliya Bazar and acting editor of Dainik BD Khabar, was lured out by three men on a motorcycle and shot at close range in an alley, with bullets to the head and his throat slit, killing him on the spot. Police say the motive is still under investigation but have indicated a possible link to internal feuds in the banned Purbo Banglar Communist Party, of which he was reportedly an active member, and note that multiple cases were already registered against him.
The latest killing comes on the heels of a series of brutal attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh, including the murder of Khokon Chandra Das on January 3, the lynching of Amrit Mondal on December 24, and the mob killing of Dipu Chandra Das on December 18, all of which have deepened fear within the minority community. The reported gang‑rape and torture of the Hindu widow in Kaliganj, where she was allegedly raped, tied to a tree, and had her hair cut off, shows how violence is being used not just to eliminate individuals but to terrorise and dishonour an entire community.
Political observers warn that such killings, mob attacks, and clandestine assaults reflect a growing crisis for minorities in Bangladesh’s changing political landscape, where law and order appear increasingly fragile for non‑majority communities. India has repeatedly conveyed its concern over these attacks to Dhaka, while the 2022 census records Hindus as about 13.13 million people, roughly 7.95% of the population, a reminder of how a shrinking minority is bearing a disproportionate share of terror and bloodshed.
When a Hindu editor is shot in the head and his throat slit in public, and a Hindu widow is raped and tied to a tree, these are not isolated crimes; they are chilling signals that for Hindus in today’s Bangladesh, life, dignity, and basic security are being systematically stripped away.
