Who was Rana Pratap Bairagi? Hindu businessman and journalist shot dead in Bangladesh

Rana Pratap Bairagi, a newspaper editor and Hindu businessman, was shot dead by unidentified assailants in Bangladesh’s Jessore district on Monday evening. The victim, who owned an ice factory, hailed from Arua village in Keshabpur upazila of Jessore district in the Khulna Division, The Daily Star reported.

The incident took place at the Kopalia Bazar area around 6:30 pm on Monday. The gunmen shot Bairagi in the head multiple times before fleeing the scene.

According to Bangladesh police, the 38-year-old ran an ice factory at Kopalia Bazar in Manirampur. He also served as the acting editor of a Narail-based newspaper, Dainik BD Khabar.

Monoharpur Union Parishad Chairman Akhtar Faruk told the publication. He said, "This [Monday] evening, several men called him [Rana] out of the factory. They shot him in the head at point-blank range and fled."

An eyewitness said the attackers arrived on a motorcycle and called Bairagi out of his factory. The witness said that the miscreants took him to a nearby alley in Jashore's Manirampur upazila, the witness adding, “Following a brief altercation, they fired several shots at him, killing him on the spot.” The police suspect a business-related dispute as the motive behind the killing.

The assailants fired multiple shots at Bairagi's head from close range near Kapalia Clinic and Diagnostic Centre. He died on the spot.

“Bairagi was shot three times in the head, and his throat was slit,” bdnews24 quoted Monirampur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Md Rajiullah Khan. Police have launched an investigation to identify those responsible. According to the police, four cases had been registered against the deceased.

Alleged targeted attacks against Hindu community

The latest cold-blooded murder comes against the backdrop of a series of targeted crimes against the Hindu community in the Muslim-majority country.

Bangladeshi Hindu man Khokon Chandra Das was reportedly assaulted on 3 January using locally-made weapons. The 50-year-old was robbed of his mobile phone and cash and then set on fire. In another incident, a 25-year-old Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh's Bhaluka area, identified as Dipu Chandra Das, was lynched by a mob and set on fire over alleged blasphemy in Mymensingh city.

Amrit Mondal, alias Samrat, was lynched over alleged extortion in Rajbari town’s Pangsha upazila on 24 December. Qatar expatriate workers Shukh Shil and Anil Shil's home, located in the Raojan area on the outskirts of Chattogram, was set on fire on 23 December. However, the residents managed to escape unharmed.