Hindu factory owner and acting editor shot dead in Bangladesh amid rising minority violence

In another incident highlighting violence against minorities in Bangladesh, a 45-year-old Hindu factory owner and acting newspaper editor, Rana Pratap, was shot in the head by a group of men on Monday evening.

According to an NDTV report, citing officials, the killing took place around 6 pm in the Kopalia Bazar area of Manirampur sub-district in Jashore, southwestern Bangladesh.

Akhtar Faruk Mintu, chairman of the Manoharpur Union Parishad, said Pratap, the son of a schoolteacher from Arua village in neighboring Keshabpur sub-district, had been running an ice factory in Kopalia Bazar for two years.

“Some men called him out of the ice factory, led him to an alley, and shot him,” NDTV quoted Mintu as saying.

Local resident Ripon Hossain said the attackers arrived on a motorcycle.

“They had an argument with Pratap, fired several rounds at his head and fled,” he said. Seven bullet casings were reportedly found beside Pratap’s body.

According to NDTV, citing a local source, Pratap had several cases pending at various police stations in Jashore and alleged links to an extremist group.

He also served as acting editor of the daily _BD Khobo_r, published from Narail district.

The newspaper’s news editor, Abul Kashem, said, “Rana Pratap was our acting editor. Although there were cases against him at one time, he was acquitted in all of them. I cannot say what led to this murder.”

Jahangir Alam, general secretary of the BNP’s Sufalakati Union unit in Keshabpur and a resident of Arua village, alleged that Pratap was a member of an extremist group.

“He had an ice factory in Kopalia and was killed in that area. He was involved in various disputes. He moved freely in the Kopalia area and did not live in his own village,” NDTV quoted Alam as saying.

Manirampur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Raziullah Khan told NDTV that an investigation is underway.

“After receiving the news, we went to the scene. The body has been recovered and sent to the morgue for an autopsy. We are investigating who was involved,” he said.

Pratap’s killing comes shortly after the rape of a Hindu widow and the murders of at least three Hindu men in Bangladesh since December, drawing criticism of the Muhammad Yunus-led interim government’s handling of violence against minorities.

With inputs from agencies