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Bangladeshi police detain three suspects over Hindu priest decapitation

Monday, 22 February 2016 1:36 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 22 February 2016 4:31 PM ]

Bangladeshi police stand guard at a court in the capital, Dhaka, on December 31, 2015. (AFP photo)

Bangladeshi police have detained at least three suspects over the recent decapitation of a leading Hindu priest in the Deviganj area, on the border with India, security sources say.

Babul Akhter, local police chief, said on Monday that two members of the banned militant group Jamayetul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and an activist with the country’s Jamaat-e-Islami were arrested for interrogation overnight Sunday.

Police, however, did not give details of their alleged involvement in the deadly attack.

This came after assailants armed with cleavers and pistols beheaded the 55-year-old priest, Jogeshwar Roy, as he was organizing prayers on Sunday at the Deviganj temple in the remote border district of Panchagar, which is located 494 kilometers (308 miles) north of the capital, Dhaka. At least two worshipers who attempted to stop the priest’s attackers were also injured in the assault.

The Daesh Takfiri militant group claimed responsibility for the attack.

However, Akhter said there was no evidence to suggest the Daesh militant group was involved in the fatal attack. "The IS (Daesh) group has previously claimed responsibility for attacks on minorities. But we haven't found any evidence confirming their link. Rather we have found JMB was behind these killings."

A policeman stands guard where a top Hindu priest was killed in the remote northern district of Panchagar, Bangladesh, on February 21, 2016 (AFP Photo)

Over the past few months, Muslims, Hindus and Christians in the South Asian country have been targeted in several militant attacks, some claimed by Daesh Takfiri terrorists.

A number of Bangladeshi writers, bloggers and intellectuals have also been killed in attacks in recent months.

On October 24, 2015, a bomb attack rocked Hussaini Dalan, the most important prayer and congregation site for Bangladesh’s Shia community in Dhaka. The attack left one person dead and dozens of others injured.

On November 26, 2015, one worshiper was killed and three others were injured in a shooting attack by Takfiri terrorists on Shia Muslims at a mosque in the town of Haripur in northern Bangladesh. Police said five assailants were involved in the attack.

Bangladeshi security forces have stepped up a hunt for militants behind the spate of recent attacks across the country of 160 million people.

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