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Hindu Priest Is Killed in Bangladesh, and Militant Islamists Are Suspected
Hindu Priest Is Killed in Bangladesh, and Militant Islamists Are Suspected
Julfikar Ali Manik and Nida Najar
7 June 2016
Image: The Hindu priest Anando Gopal Ganguly and his wife, Shefali Ganguly, at their house in Jhenidah, Bangladesh. Credit European Press photo Agency
DHAKA, Bangladesh — A Hindu priest was hacked to death on Tuesday morning in southwestern Bangladesh, in what the police suspected was the latest in a series of killings by Islamist militants.
The priest, Anando Gopal Ganguly, 68, was riding a bicycle in an isolated rural area not far from his home when he was attacked by three men on a motorcycle who came up from behind him, said Gopinath Kanjilal, an assistant superintendent of police for the Jhenaidah district. He said Mr. Ganguly had been on his way to perform a prayer service.
“It seems the attackers were following the priest from his home and killed him at a convenient place,” Mr. Kanjilal said. Mr. Ganguly’s throat was slit, and he was “almost beheaded,” said Mr. Kanjilal, who said he suspected that Islamist militants were responsible.
In recent years, Bangladesh has witnessed a series of similar killings. The initial targets were secular writers and intellectuals, but more recently the victims have included foreigners, gay activists and members of religious minorities. Islamist militants are suspected in many of the attacks, and their pace has appeared to accelerate in recent weeks.
On Sunday, the wife of a police official known for pursuing Islamist militants was fatally stabbed and shot while taking her son to a school bus stop in Chittagong, in southern Bangladesh. Also on Sunday, in the country’s north, a Christian grocer was hacked to death.
The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for some of the attacks, including the killing of Mr. Ganguly, while a branch of Al Qaeda has claimed others, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors extremist activity online. Officials in Bangladesh have denied that foreign Islamist militants have a presence in the country.
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