On Monday (14th October), the dead body of an 80-year-old Hindu priest was found hanging from a tree outside his home in Sitakunda upazila in the Chittagong district of Bangladesh.
According to reports, the deceased was identified as Sukumar Das. He was the caretaker of the Loknath temple, which was established by him in the Madhya Mahmudabad area of the Barbakunda Union.
Evidently, Das was first murdered before being hung from the gooseberry tree outside his house. The Hindu man could not have possibly committed suicide since his legs were seen touching the ground.
In Sitakunda, Chittagong, a Hindu temple caretaker (Sukumar Das) was found hanging from a tree, appearing to have been killed and then hanged. The incident took place in Barbakund, Loknath Temple in #Chittagong. #SaveBangladeshiHindus #BangladeshiHindus pic.twitter.com/j8wFbps8GB
— Voice Of Bangladeshi Hindus 🇧🇩 (@hindu8789) October 14, 2024
On being informed about the matter, the police reached the crime scene and sent the body of Sukumar Das to the Chittagong Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.
As per the local Hindu community, the deceased served the temple every single day despite his ailing health. Das would eat and sleep by 8 o’clock in the night. He would wake up early in the morning and conduct puja at the Loknath temple.
The deceased is now survived by 4 sons and 4 daughters. Jhantu Das, the middle son of Sukumar Das, spoke to Prothom Alo and ruled out any possibility of suicide of the 80-year-old.
“My father could not have committed suicide. He had been murdered and hung from the tree. No one can die if their feet is touching the ground while hanging from a rope,” he added.
The development comes amid ongoing Islamist onslaught on Hindus in Bangladesh, especially during the annual Durga Puja.
