Staff Reporter :Police on Monday arrested three suspects in connection with the brutal murder of a Hindu temple priest in Deviganj upazila of Panchagarh district.A gang of criminals slaughtered the priest Jogeshwar Dasadhikari Roy, 50, while arranging his offerings for morning puja at Sri Sri Shonto Gaurio temple of Shonapota around 6:30am on Sunday.The criminals fled the scene by firing shots and exploding homemade bombs, which injured two other devotees.The bullet injured devotees were identified as Gopal Chandra Roy, 35, and Nitai Pod Das, 40. Gopal is now undergoing treatment at Rangpur Medical College Hospital while Nitai at Debiganj Upazila Health Complex. The arrested three suspects have been identified as Khlilur Rahman, 55, Babul Hossain, 28, and Jahangir Hossain, 25. “The two arrestees are the active members of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and the rest is an activist of local Islami Chhatra Shibir,” Babul Akhter, Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Debiganj Police Station told journalists. However, the Islamic State (IS) on Sunday claimed responsibility for the murder of priest Jogeshwar Dasadhikari Roy, said SITE Intelligence Group. The SITE Intelligence Group published the news of IS claim regarding the murder in its website on Sunday night. “IS claimed the murder of Hindu priest Jogeswar Dashadikari Roy, the principal of the Sri Sri Shantu Santo Gaurio monastery, in northern Bangladesh,” the SITE said The SITE Intelligence Group had earlier reported that IS claimed responsibility for the murder of Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella in Dhaka, Japanese national Kunio Hoshi in Rangpur, attack on a Shia procession in Dhaka, and also attack on a Shia mosque in Bogra and killing of the mosque’s muazzen. According to police and witnesses, a gang of criminals riding a motorbike came to the temple and set off several crude bombs at Sonto Gourir Moth on the western side of the river Karatoa in the upazila headquarters around 6:00am on Sunday.As priest Jogeshwar Dasadhikari came out of the temple, the miscreants swooped on him and hacked him to death with a sharp weapon. They also fired gunshots on Gopal Chandra Roy, a devotee, when he tried to protect the injured priest.Another devotee, Netai Pod Das, also suffered injuries as the assailants hurled crude bombs at him when he came forward in aid of the priest. Victim’s brother Rabindra Chandra Roy filed a case in this connection. A top official of Panchagarh police denied that there was any presence of the terror outfits like IS in the district. “Yet, we will verify the claim.” Meanwhile, European Union Ambassador to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon has urged all relevant official authorities to ensure a thorough investigation into the killing of Hindu priest and bring the perpetrators to justice. He strongly condemned the murder of priest Jogeshwar Dasadhikari from Panchagarh and the attack on Gopal Chandra Roy and Nitai Pod Das who received injuries while trying to save the priest. In a statement on Monday, Ambassador Mayaudon conveyed his condolences to the family of the deceased and wished a prompt and full recovery of the two devotees. Ambassador Mayaudon observed that an attack on any religion is an attack against all religions.Members of different law enforcement agencies, including police, Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI) have collected evidence from the spot. Giasuddin Ahmed, superintendent of police in Panchagarh, told media that they have formed a committee to probe the killing while CID, the Special Branch, and Rab are assisting them. Replying to a query on whether it was a planned attack on the religious minority, the SP said that they are investigating the incident keeping two to three aspects in mind. “Jama’atul Mujahidin Bangladesh (JMB) is also in our list of suspects,” the SP said.Several hundreds of people from Hindu community under the banner of Bangladesh Jatiya Hindu Mohajote on Monday demanded exemplary punishment of the killers through a fair investigation into the brutal murder from a human chain and demonstration held in front of the National Press Club in the city.
