A Hindu grocery shop owner was found brutally murdered inside his store in Mohanganj upazila of Netrokona on Monday night, triggering outrage and fear among the local minority community amid what residents describe as a growing collapse of law and order under Bangladesh’s interim government.
Police recovered the throat-slit body of Narayan Chandra Pal, 45, from his grocery shop, Narayan Store, located at Bashundhara Mor — only about 150 yards from the Mohanganj Police Station — around 11:00pm, said Aminul Islam, the officer-in-charge of the station.
“The body was lying on the floor inside the shop. Locals noticed blood through a gap in the door and immediately informed police,” the OC said, adding that evidence had been collected and an investigation was underway.
Narayan, son of the late Nirupal Chandra Pal of Daulatpur village, had been running the small grocery shop for nearly 15 years.
Residents said he was a familiar face in the area and known for his gentle manners.
His younger brother, Supol Chandra Pal, said the family was devastated and unable to comprehend the motive behind the killing.
“My brother had no conflict or dispute with anyone. He lived a simple life. We cannot imagine why anyone would kill him in such a cruel way,” Supol said. “We want the killers arrested immediately and brought to justice.”
Neighbours described Narayan as a “peaceful and hardworking man.”
One resident, requesting anonymity out of fear, said the killing has terrified the community.
“If a man can be slaughtered in his own shop so close to the police station, what safety do ordinary people have now? The entire area is in panic,” he said.
The murder has intensified anxiety among members of the Hindu minority, who say they have increasingly become targets of hate crimes and violence amid the deteriorating security situation since the Yunus interim regime assumed office in August 2024.
Several locals alleged that extremist groups were operating freely under the current administration, taking advantage of what they called a “vacuum of authority.”
There is no law, no order,” said a local schoolteacher.
“We are witnessing an alarming surge of fanaticism and intolerance sweeping through society, while the government appears either incapacitated or willfully indifferent.”
Though police have yet to identify a motive, many residents suspect that the killing could be linked to religious hatred or organized militancy, pointing to the brutality of the attack and the absence of personal enmity.
“This killing is neither random nor personal,” said a local resident on condition of anonymity. “The extreme brutality and lack of any apparent motive point to religiously motivated violence or coordinated militant activity. It is a deliberate act meant to terrorize the entire community.”
Leaders of the local Hindu community demanded that the government deploy additional security forces and ensure swift justice.
“This was not just a murder — it was a message of fear,” said a community elder. “If the state cannot protect citizens even within sight of a police station, it shows how fragile the system has become.”
OC Aminul Islam said law enforcement officials were “considering all possible motives” and that the body had been sent for autopsy. “We are determined to bring the perpetrators to justice,” he added.
