The body of a 50-year-old Hindu jeweller was found inside a plastic drum floating near a sluice gate in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district, with police suspecting that he was killed before his body was dumped in the water.
The victim was identified as Niranjan Chandra Sutradhar, who ran a jointly owned jewellery shop in the Atharbari Building area of Mymensingh. His body was recovered on Wednesday after locals spotted the floating drum in the Begunbari area and alerted police, Bangladesh newspaper Dainik Ittefaq reported.
Police identified the man using a token issued by the Mymensingh Hindu Cooperative Credit Union Limited, which was found in the pocket of his trousers, according to report.
After contacting the cooperative, police were able to establish his identity. Niranjan’s wife, Sumita Rani Sutradhar, and son, Joy Sutradhar, later confirmed his identity.
TOKEN HELPS ESTABLISH VICTIM’S IDENTITY
Kotwali Model Police Station Sub-Inspector Ruhul Amin told Dainik Ittefaq that the token was used to trace Niranjan’s identity through the cooperative credit union.
Police then contacted his family to confirm the identification.
Police have not yet established who killed Niranjan or the motive behind the killing. No one had been detained in connection with the case as of Friday morning, according to report.
Police said the body bore injury marks and that they suspected Niranjan had been killed before it was placed inside the drum and dumped in the water.
NIRANJAN HAD BEEN MISSING SINCE SEPTEMBER 20
according to report that Niranjan lived with his wife and son in a rented house in the Stadium area of Mymensingh.
He had left home on September 20 and was reported missing. A nephew reportedly saw him in the Stadium area the following day.
Police said Niranjan had previously stayed away from home for several days before returning. His family therefore initially expected him to return and did not file a general diary after he went missing.
KILLING COMES AMID MINORITY SAFETY DEBATE
The killing comes amid continuing political debate in Bangladesh over the safety of minority communities.
The Awami League has accused the BNP-led government of failing to adequately protect minorities and has drawn parallels with the period of the BNP-Jamaat alliance government from 2001 to 2006.
The party has cited attacks on temples, homes and members of minority communities in making its claims.
However, those political claims are separate from the circumstances of Niranjan’s death. Police have not established a motive or said that the killing was connected to his religious identity.
The investigation into the death is ongoing.
Source: India Today