Dhaka, Jan 6 (NationPress) In a troubling development, two Hindu men lost their lives in distinct incidents within just 24 hours in Bangladesh, highlighting the alarming increase in violence against religious minorities, especially the Hindu community, as reported by local media.

The first victim, a 40-year-old named Sarat Chakraborty Mani, was brutally attacked on Monday night in Narsingdi district with sharp weapons, allegedly by members of an extremist armed religious faction.

According to eyewitness accounts reported by Bangladeshi weekly Blitz, Mani was operating his grocery store at Charsindur Bazaar in Palash Upazila when unidentified attackers assaulted him with deadly weapons. He sustained severe injuries and tragically passed away en route to the hospital.

In a separate incident, a 38-year-old Hindu businessman, Rana Pratap Bairagi, was shot to death in public at Monirampur Upazila of Jashore district.

Bairagi, who owned an ice manufacturing facility in Kapalia Bazar, also served as the acting editor for the newspaper Dainik BD Khobor, published from Narail. The shooting occurred on Monday evening when three assailants arrived on a motorcycle, called him out from his factory, and fatally shot him in the head before fleeing the scene.

Md Raziullah Khan, the officer-in-charge of Monirampur police station, confirmed the incident, stating that the body was recovered and would be sent to Jashore Hospital for a post-mortem examination. He mentioned that the motive behind the murder remains unclear, and investigations into the attackers' identities are ongoing.

These latest killings underscore a disturbing trend of escalating violence directed at Hindu communities throughout Bangladesh.

Just days prior, another Hindu man, Khokon Chandra Das, was tragically killed by a mob in Damudya Upazila of Shariatpur district.

Furthermore, last week, Bajendra Biswas, aged 40, was shot dead by a colleague in Bhaluka Upazila of Mymensingh district. On December 24, reports emerged of a Hindu youth named Amrit Mondal, 29, who was allegedly lynched by a mob in the Hossaindanga area of Kalimohar Union.

In another horrifying incident on December 18, Dipu Chandra Das, a 25-year-old Hindu, was brutally murdered during a mob lynching based on false blasphemy accusations by a Muslim coworker in Bhaluka Upazila. The mob killed him and then hung his body from a tree before setting it ablaze.

This surge in violence against minorities, particularly Hindus, under the interim government led by Muhammad Yunus, has sparked outrage among citizens and numerous human rights organizations globally.