On Saturday (15th February), a Hindu man named Sumon Kumar Pal was murdered in broad daylight in the Dakshin Khan area in Dhaka city of Bangladesh.
The victim was just 40 years old. Pal worked as a bKash (mobile financial services) agent at a pharmacy named ‘Bhai Bhai Medical Hall’. At about 12:30 pm, three men ambushed his shops and began looting the cash from the register.
Pal confronted the robbers, following which they hit him in the head repeatedly. He was rushed to the Kurmitola General Hospital but was declared dead on arrival. He was a native of Bauphal upazila in Patuakhali district of Bangladesh.
Locals however succeeded in catching one of the robbers, who was identified as Karim Mia. They trashed Mia and handed him over to the police. He was admitted to another hospital for treatment. The other 2 robbers managed to flee the scene.
According to eyewitness Saiful Islam, a sum of Tk 10000- Tk 15000 was recovered from Mia. He informed that the victim had been living and working in the Dakshin Khan area for over 20 years.
“Sumon Kumar Pal was hit on the head. It was only after that they robbed the shop. If the purpose was robbery, then they would not have hit him with the intention to murder,” the locals told Ajker Patrika.
Hindu student shot dead in Khulna
On 24th January this year, a Hindu youth named Arnab Kumar Sarkar was shot dead at the Tentultala intersection in Khulna city of Bangladesh.
The victim was 26 years old and a master’s student at Khulna University. The incident occurred when Arnab was drinking tea on his motorcycle near a tea stall.
At that time, a group of bike-born men opened fire at the Hindu student and fled the crime scene. Arnab suffered a bullet injury to his head.
The chief of Sonadanga Police Station Shafiqul Islam stated, “Locals quickly rushed to his aid and transported him to City Medical College Hospital, where he was pronounced dead by doctors.”
The Deputy Commissioner of Khulna City Police (southern division) Md Moniruzzaman has referred to the attackers as ‘terrorists’, adding that an investigation was initiated to determine the motive behind the murder of the Hindu student.
Arnab Kumar Sarkar is now survived by his parents.
