Mymensingh (Bangladesh): A 62-year-old rice trader was brutally killed during a late-night attack in Trishal upazila of Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district on Monday, police said. The victim, identified as Sushen Chandra Sarkar, was reportedly assaulted with sharp weapons inside his shop, and a large sum of cash was looted.
According to a report by BDNews, the incident occurred around 11 pm at the Bogra Bazaar intersection. Sarkar, a resident of Southkanda village, owned a rice trading business named Bhai Bhai Enterprise at the market.
Trishal police station officer-in-charge Mohammad Firoz Hossain said unidentified assailants attacked Sarkar with sharp-edged weapons and left him critically injured inside the shop before pulling down the shutter and fleeing the scene.
Family members, who were searching for him after he failed to return home, later opened the shop and found him lying in a pool of blood. He was rushed to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, where doctors declared him dead.
The victim’s son, Sujan Sarkar, said the family had been engaged in the rice trade for years and had no known enmity with anyone. He alleged that the attackers murdered his father and escaped with several lakh taka in cash kept at the shop.
Police have launched an investigation and said efforts are underway to identify and arrest the perpetrators. The motive behind the killing is being probed, with robbery suspected as a key angle.
Concerns Raised Over Minority Safety
The killing comes amid heightened political activity in Bangladesh ahead of elections. Some community organisations and minority rights groups have expressed concern over what they describe as an increase in attacks targeting members of minority communities during the pre-election period. International advocacy groups have called for greater protection of minorities and accountability in cases of violence, citing a pattern of intimidation and attacks. Authorities, however, have maintained that investigations are being conducted as per law.
