Hindu priest hacked to death in Bangladesh

Dhaka, July 1: A Hindu priest was hacked to death on Friday in Jheidah 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. Jheidah 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. "Shyamanda was picking flowers for 'puja' just outside the temple when three assailants approached him on a motorcycle and hacked him down," Hossain said. IANS