Caretaker Found Dead: Concerns Over Minority Safety In Bangladesh

The death of a Hindu temple caretaker in Bangladesh has ignited concerns among minority groups, prompting calls for a thorough investigation and justice.

A Hindu temple caretaker was found hanging from a tree three days after he went missing from his home in southeastern Bangladesh, a minority group said and demanded stern action against the perpetrators.

Details of the Temple Caretaker's Death

Nayan Sadhu, the 40-year-old resident of Dohazari area under Sthania Upazila of Chhattogram district, was serving as a caretaker-cum-priest at a Shivakali temple in Khurushkul union in Cox's Bazar Sadar Upazila, Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council (BHBCUC) said late on Saturday.

Two unidentified men took Nayan with them late on the evening of April 19, and three days later, his body was found hanging from a tree in a hilly area on the outskirts of the village, according to the police and residents in the Cox's Bazar neighbourhood.

"We recovered the body when it had started getting decomposed," the Kaler Kantha newspaper said, quoting an unnamed police official.

The police are yet not sure if it was a case of murder or suicide, he said.

Demands for Justice and Investigation

In a statement, the council demanded stern punitive action against the perpetrators of his murder.

"The Unity Council strongly condemns the incident and demands immediate arrest and exemplary punishment against the perpetrators," the forum said in the statement.

"We just cannot understand what could be the motive of killing an ordinary caretaker of a relatively small temple in a remote area," BHBCUC senior member Kajal Debnath told PTI.

Bangladesh Puja Celebration Council's Cox's Bazar unit general secretary Jony Dhar said the body was recovered three days after Nayan went missing, indicating that he was murdered.

Police said the body has been sent for an autopsy to determine the exact cause of the death.

An investigation was launched following the missing person's report filed by the deceased's wife on April 19.

Another Death Under Investigation

Meanwhile, police on Sunday detained four people in eastern Cumilla in connection with the mysterious death of a young Hindu Customs official, whose family suspected it was a murder.

The body of 35-year-old Bullet Bairagi was found on Saturday by the side of the Dhaka-Chattagram road.

"We have arrested four suspects after raiding different areas in Cumilla since Saturday night," specialised Rapid Action Battalion's (RAB) company commander Major Sadman Ibne Alam told reporters.

Officer in charge of Cumilla Sadar Model Police Station Sirajul Mostafa said, "We are putting in our best efforts to unearth the mystery of the death by engaging several teams."

An assistant revenue officer in the Customs, Excise & VAT Commissionerate, Bairagi was stationed with his family, including a minor son, in Cumilla but hailed from the southwestern Gopalganj district.

Police said his family lost contact with Bairagi on Friday night after he informed them that he had nearly reached his residence in Cumilla in a bus after attending an official training programme in Chattagram.

When he failed to return home, and his mobile phone was found switched off, Bairagi's father filed a complaint with Cumilla Kotwali Model Police Station on Saturday morning. However, Bairagi's mother, Nilima Bairagi, later lodged a complaint over his death as a murder, police added.

Another police officer familiar with the investigation told local reporters they found no major injury marks on the body, but his face appeared bloodied.

Bairagi's mobile phone, bag and other personal belongings were missing, he added.

Earlier this month, the council said there have been 133 incidents of communal violence between January 1 and March 31 this year in Bangladesh.