In Rangpur, 75-year-old Yogesh Chandra Roy, a freedom fighter of the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, and his wife Suvarna Roy were murdered by slitting their throats. The bodies of both were recovered from their house on Sunday morning.
According to local sources, no FIR had been registered till Sunday, 2 pm, and no arrests have been made in the matter. Around 7:30 am on Sunday, the neighbors and the domestic helper knocked on the door several times, but received no response. The couple lived alone in their village home.
After this, they used a ladder to enter the house and found Suvarna Roy’s body in the kitchen, and Yogesh Roy’s body was in the dining room. Throats of both the victims were slit.
The local police claimed that the attack occurred around 1 am late at night. Their two sons, Shoven Chandra Roy and Rajesh Khanna Chandra Roy, work for the Bangladesh Police.
Murder motive remains unclear
The reason for the murder is not clear. Police said that, there was family dispute for either of the victims. No case had been registered until 2 PM on Sunday.
Local freedom fighter organisations and the community are enraged by the murder and the local people are warning to organise protests if the killers are not arrested.
This murder comes at a time when there are complaints of increasing attacks on minorities, especially Hindus, during the tenure of Bangladesh’s interim government head, Mohammad Yunus.
Hindu Leader Lynched in April
On April 19, 2025, an influential Hindu leader was murdered by unknown individuals in Bangladesh. According to media reports from that time, Bhavesh Chandra Roy (58) was kidnapped from his home and beaten to death.
He was the vice-president of the Biral unit of Bangladesh Puja Udjapan Parishad. He had a strong influence within the Hindu community. Police stated that he was a resident of Basudevpur village in Dinajpur, 330 km from Dhaka.
Four people on two motorcycles came to Bhavesh’s house and forcibly took him away. According to eyewitnesses, he was taken to the nearby Narabari village and brutally beaten there.
That same evening, the attackers sent Bhabesh home in a van in an unconscious state. First, he was taken to a nearby hospital, then sent to Dinajpur Medical College, where doctors declared him dead.
Hindus targeted after the coup in August 2024
On August 5, 2024, the Sheikh Hasina government was overthrown in Bangladesh after a long student movement. Hasina had to flee the country. With this, the situation in Bangladesh deteriorated. The police went underground overnight. Law and order collapsed.
The uncontrolled mob primarily targeted minorities, especially Hindus. According to a report by the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, 32 Hindus lost their lives in communal violence here. 13 cases of rape and harassment of women were reported.
Around 133 temples were attacked. These incidents occurred between August 4, 2024, and December 31, 2024.
Source: Bhaskar English
