A Hindu businessman-editor of a local newspaper was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Bangladesh’s Jessore district on Monday (January 5), according to local media reports.
The victim has been identified as Rana Pratap Bairagi (38), a resident of Arua village in Keshabpur upazila of Jessore, located in the Khulna Division, Bangla-language daily Prothom Alo reported.
Shot at close range in market area
The incident took place around 5:45 pm at Kapalia Bazaar in Monirampur upazila, Additional Police Superintendent Abul Basar was quoted as saying by news portal bdnews24.
According to police and local residents, three assailants riding a motorcycle called Bairagi out of his ice factory at Kopaliya Bazaar and led him to a nearby alley in front of the Kapalia Clinic and Diagnostic Centre.
The attackers then shot him in the head at close range before fleeing the scene. Bairagi died on the spot.
Multiple gunshot wounds, throat slit
Monirampur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Rajiullah Khan said the victim was shot multiple times.
“Bairagi was shot three times in the head and his throat was slit,” Khan told Prothom Alo.
Police said the motive behind the killing remains unclear.
Businessman and media professional
Bairagi owned an ice-making factory in the local market and was also the acting editor of ‘Dainik BD Khabar’, a newspaper published from Narail district.
Authorities said four cases had previously been registered against him across two police stations, though details of those cases were not immediately available.
Investigation underway
Police have launched an investigation to identify the perpetrators and determine the motive behind the killing. No arrests have been reported so far.
On December 24, Amrit Mondal was lynched in Rajbari’s Pangsha upazila over alleged extortion.
On December 23, unidentified attackers set fire to the home of Hindu expatriate workers Shukh Shil and Anil Shil in the Raojan area near Chattogram; the occupants escaped unharmed.
