'Pay Jizya or your wife will be taken': Friend alleges extortion before Hindu man’s killing in Bangladesh

(FILES) Hindu activists hold placards and Indian national flags, as they chant the slogan, "Stop atrocities on Hindus", and protest attacks on religious places of Hindus in Bangladesh, in Ahmedabad, India August 13, 2024. REUTERS/Amit Dave

A Hindu shopkeeper was killed near Dhaka amid allegations of threats and extortion targeting minorities in Bangladesh. Community leaders claim rising violence against Hindus, with six murders in 18 days, has created fear and distrust in official assurances.

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Fresh allegations of targeted violence against Hindus in Bangladesh have emerged after the killing of a Hindu shopkeeper near Dhaka, adding to growing concerns over minority safety in the country. Speaking to CNN-News18, a senior representative of a minority rights body alleged that the murder followed threats and extortion in the name of an illegal religious levy.

Killing of Hindu shopkeeper in Narsingdi

Sarat Chakraborty Mani, a 40-year-old Hindu grocery shop owner, was killed in the Narsingdi district, close to the capital, Dhaka. According to local media reports cited by news agency ANI, Mani was attacked on the night of January 6 while running his shop at Charsindur Bazaar in Palash Upazila. Eyewitnesses said unidentified assailants suddenly arrived and attacked him with sharp weapons before fleeing. Mani succumbed to his injuries while being taken to the hospital.

Allegations of extortion and threats

Bappaditya Basu, Assistant Organising Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and a family friend of the deceased, made serious allegations in an exclusive conversation with CNN-News18.

“In Bangladesh, the situation for Hindus is extremely difficult. What is happening here is ethnic cleansing of Hindus, and this is happening with government backing,” Basu said.

He alleged that Mani had been threatened and asked to pay Jizya, a tax historically imposed on non Muslims, despite there being no legal basis for such a levy in present-day Bangladesh.

“He was told to pay Jizya, and he was threatened that if the police were informed, his wife would be kidnapped. Yesterday, he was killed,” Basu alleged.

Stressing that Mani had no political links, Basu said, “Sarat was a very normal man. He had no political agenda. He was just running his grocery shop to earn a living.”

He also claimed that violence against Hindus was escalating rapidly. “In the last 24 hours, two incidents have taken place,” Basu said, pointing to what he described as a climate of fear among minorities.

Pattern of killings raises alarm

Mani’s killing is reported to be the sixth murder of a Hindu individual in Bangladesh in the past 18 days. Local media noted that Mani had posted on Facebook on December 19, expressing anguish over the situation in the country, describing his birthplace as having turned into a “valley of death.”

Police have said an investigation is under way, though no official motive has yet been disclosed.

On the same day as Mani’s murder, another Hindu man was killed in Jessore. Rana Pratap Bairagi, an ice factory owner and acting editor of the newspaper Dainik BD Khobor, was shot dead in public in the Monirampur area, according to reports in Prothom Alo. Local media said three assailants on a motorcycle called him out of his factory, took him into an alley, and shot him in the head at close range before escaping.

Minority fears deepen

The back-to-back killings and allegations of religiously motivated extortion have intensified scrutiny of Bangladesh’s handling of minority security. While authorities continue to promise investigations, Hindu community leaders warn that repeated violence, threats, and public assassinations are creating an atmosphere of terror that official assurances have so far failed to dispel.