Hindu priest hacked to death in Bangladesh

Dhaka, July 1 A Hindu priest was hacked to death on Friday in Jhenaidah district, the latest of dozens of brutal attacks in Bangladesh.

Shaymanonda Das, 50, was preparing for morning prayers at Radha Madan Gopal Temple in Uttar Kastasagara village when he was attacked by three armed assailants on a motorbike, bdnews24 reported.

Jhenaidah SP Sheikh Altaf Hossain said this murder resembles similar killings elsewhere in the country, where motorcycle-borne militants shot and hacked down secular bloggers, publishers, writers, Hindu priests, Buddhist monks, Christian pastors and even foreigners.

Quoting an eyewitness, a woman, Hossain said the murder occurred around 5.20 a.m.

"Shyamananda was picking flowers for 'puja' just outside the temple when three assailants approached him on a motorcycle and hacked him down," Hossain said.

"To make sure he died, they rained multiple blows to his head with sharp weapons."

A similar attack took place on June 7 when Hindu priest Ananda Gopal Ganguly, 69, hacked to death in Jhenaidah Sadar’s Mahishdanga village.

US monitoring group SITE said the Islamic State (IS) terror group claimed responsibility for the attack.