Hindu worker hacked to death in Bangladesh by suspected Islamists

A Hindu worker has been hacked to death in Bangladesh marking the latest incident in a string of killings battering the country. The 60-year-old inmate of a Hindu ashram was killed by unknown assailants.

Nityaranjan Pandey, who is with the Thakur Anukul Chandra Satsanga Paramtirtha Hemayetpurdham ashram, is the latest victim of brutal assaults taking place in the Muslim-majority country despite a nationwide crackdown on militants by the government.

The incident took place in the early hours of Friday (10 June) in the north-western Bangladeshi district of Pabna. His body was found lying on the streets close to the monastery where he was residing.

"He has been serving here for the last 40 years. He went for a morning walk every day as he had diabetes," the monastery's general secretary Jugoi Kishore Ghosh told BDNews24.

Police, citing preliminary reports, have confirmed Pandey's murder is consistent with the earlier slaughters, in which several non-Muslims including Hindus and Christians, besides secular activists were hacked to death. No one has claimed responsibility for the latest attack as yet. Authorities say they are investigating the incident.

The murder has come within days of a similar attack on a Hindu priest who was hacked to death by suspected Islamists.