The victim, identified as Mithun Sarkar of Bhandarpur village in Naogaon district, was pursued by a group of locals at Hat Chakgouri Bazar on Tuesday afternoon. Police said Sarkar ran toward a nearby canal and jumped into the water in an apparent bid to evade the crowd. He went missing shortly thereafter.
Local residents alerted authorities, prompting a joint rescue operation by police and fire service personnel. After nearly four hours, divers recovered Sarkar’s body from the canal around 4 pm. The body was sent to the district general hospital for post-mortem examination. Investigators said it remains unclear whether Sarkar was involved in any theft, and no arrests have been announced so far.
The incident comes amid a spate of violent attacks against members of the Hindu community reported across Bangladesh in recent weeks. On Monday night, a Hindu shopkeeper, Sharat Chakraborty Mani, 40, was killed in Narsingdi district after assailants attacked him with sharp weapons at his grocery shop in Charsindur market, police said. Mani died while being taken to hospital. Authorities are probing the motive and have not identified suspects.
Separately, police confirmed that Rana Pratap Bairagi, a Hindu businessman and journalist, was shot dead in Jessore district on January 5. According to investigators, three attackers arrived on a motorcycle, lured Bairagi out of his ice factory in Monirampur, and shot him at close range before fleeing. Seven empty cartridges were recovered from the scene. The motive remains under investigation.
Law enforcement officials also reported a gang rape of a 44-year-old Hindu widow in Jhenaidah district earlier this month. The survivor alleged that she was assaulted, tied to a tree, beaten and filmed. One suspect has been arrested, while others are being sought.
Rights groups and community leaders have urged authorities to ensure swift investigations and accountability, warning that unchecked mob violence and targeted crimes risk deepening communal anxiety. Police said investigations are ongoing in all cases and appealed to the public to avoid vigilantism and report suspected crimes through legal channels.
.jpg)
