AMID escalating attacks on minorities across Bangladesh, a Hindu man was allegedly stabbed to death, while three homes belonging to Hindu families were vandalised and looted in a separate incident, local media reported. These latest incidents raised fresh concerns over the safety of minority communities in the country. The deceased Hindu man, identified as 43-year-old Rabendra Rishi, who owned a salon, was allegedly stabbed to death by a man after refusing to provide a haircut on credit in Bhaluka upazila of Mymensingh district on Tuesday evening. Citing police information, Bangladeshi Bengali daily Prothom Alo reported that the accused, 26-year-old Saddam, stabbed Rabendra in the chest and neck with a sharp knife, killing him on the spot. Reports suggest that Saddam stormed into Rabendra’s salon armed with a sharp knife and stabbed him. In a desperate bid to save his life, the bloodied Rabendra ran to a nearby shop owned by the accused’s father, but the attacker chased him and stabbed him repeatedly. Rabendra then sought refuge in the courtyard of a nearby house, where Saddam allegedly knocked him down and continued stabbing him. He died on the spot due to excessive blood loss. According to the victim’s wife, Suchitra, Saddam frequently extorted money from her husband to buy drugs and routinely refused to pay for his haircuts. She said arguments often broke out whenever Rabendra asked him to settle the bills, Bangladeshi news outlet UNB reported. She alleged that refusal to give another haircut on credit led to her husband’s murder.

 

She further alleged that Saddam had repeatedly threatened to kill Rabendra, including before Durga Puja, when he warned her, “You will receive your husband’s body after Puja”. Following the arrest of Saddam, Mohammad Zahidul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Bhaluka Model Police Station said, “The accused is behaving crazy. A five-day remand has been sought for his interrogation. The body has been recovered and handed over to the family after the autopsy,” Prothom Alo reported. In a separate incident, three homes belonging to Hindu families were vandalised and looted in Chak Karimpur village of Pirganj upazila in Rangpur district on Monday night, following a social media post that allegedly offended the religious sentiments of Muslims, local media reported, citing police. The affected houses belonged to three brothers -- Bishu Chandra Mohanta, 50, Jagadish Chandra Mohanta, 60, and Dinesh Chandra Mohanta, 46. Speaking to The Daily Star, Bishu said the attackers damaged his television, furniture, walls and doors and stole two goats from his house. His brothers Jagadish and Dinesh said that their houses were also vandalised, with doors, fences and furniture damaged and televisions and other valuables stolen. Jagadish’s wife, Arati Rani, said she fled the house to protect herself during the attack. “When the attackers stormed our house, we pleaded with them to stop. But they threatened to kill me,” she said.