Hindu man shot dead, widow gangraped & tortured in 2 separate incidents in Bangladesh

Violence against the Hindu minority in Bangladesh has reached a critical point with two horrific incidents reported within the last 24 hours. In Jashore district, a 45-year-old Hindu factory owner and journalist, Rana Pratap, was shot dead in broad daylight. Pratap, who served as the acting editor of a local daily, was called out of his factory by bike-borne assailants and shot in the head at point-blank range.

This marks the fifth fatal attack on the minority community in less than three weeks, raising serious questions about the law and order situation under the interim government. Earlier incidents include the lynching of Dipu Chandra Das, a Hindu garment factory worker, who was beaten to death during mob violence. Amrit Mondal, another Hindu man, was also reported killed in connection with the recent unrest.

In another gut-wrenching incident in Jhenaidah’s Kaliganj, a 40-year-old Hindu widow was allegedly gang-raped and subjected to extreme torture. According to reports, the perpetrators—identified as local men who had been harassing her over land disputes—tied her to a tree, cut off her hair, and filmed the entire ordeal. The survivor was rescued in a critical state and is currently undergoing treatment. Police have arrested two suspects, but the incident has sparked widespread outrage across the region.