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 on Monday. According to the media reports, the deceased was recognised 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.
Notably, Das was first murdered before being hung from the gooseberry tree outside his house. The Hindu man could not have committed suicide since his legs were seen touching the ground. The police reached the crime scene on being informed about the matter and sent the body of Sukumar Das to the Chittagong Medical College and Hospital for post-mortem.
According to the media reports, 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. He added, ‘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’.
The development comes amid ongoing Islamist onslaught on Hindus in Bangladesh, especially during the annual Durga Puja.
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