Hindu Priest Hacked to Death While Gathering Flowers

A 52-year-old Hindu priest Shyamananda Das was hacked to death at his temple in Bangladesh's southwestern district of Jhenaidah early Friday, police said.

It is the latest incident in a wave of suspected religious-based murders, despite a nationwide crackdown by the Bangladeshi government, including the arrest of more than 14,000 people.

He was gathering flowers, likely to be offered in prayers at the Sri Sri Radha Madan Gopal Bigrohomot temple, when the attack took place, Gopinath Kanjilal, Assistant Superintendent of Police of Jhenaidah district, An eye witness 'Sador'

"Three men rode up on one bicycle. They were wearing helmets. They jumped off, attacked the priest, and then rushed away," Kanjilal said, citing one witness account.

The alleged killers used what is locally known as "chapatti"— a long, heavy knife that is often described as a machete. 

 

Kanjilal added that the attack is similar to others in a long, ongoing spate of murders across Bangladesh that's taken the lives of secular bloggers, academics, as well as religious minorities.

 

The government launched an anti-militant drive across the Muslim-majority nation last month to stamp out the murders, but many of those detained are believed to be ordinary criminals and not Islamic extremists.

"Hindus are the largest minority group in Bangladesh and comprise about nine percent of the population. But this is a number that has dwindled since Bangladesh was formed and many Hindus we've been told have tried to make their way to India or are thinking about what their future might be."