Ice factory owner shot dead in Jashore

An ice factory owner was lured out and shot dead in public in Monirampur upazila of Jashore. The incident took place at Kopalia Bazar in the upazila on Monday evening.

Rana Pratap Bairagi, 38, was the son of Tushar Kanti Bairagi of Arua village in Keshabpur upazila, Jashore. He owned an ice manufacturing factory in Kapalia Bazar, Monirampur, and also served as the acting editor of the newspaper ‘Dainik BD Khobor’ published from Narail.

Local residents and police reported that on Monday afternoon, Rana Pratap Bairagi was at his ice factory in Kopalia market, Monirampur upazila. Around 5:45 pm, three assailants arrived on a motorcycle, called him out from the ice factory, and took him to an alley in front of Kopalia Clinic and Diagnostic Centre on the western side of the market. The assailants then shot him at close range in the head and fled. Rana Pratap died on the spot.

Immediately after the incident, panic spread among the people in Kopalia market and its surrounding areas. On receiving the news, police from Monirampur police station arrived at the scene.

Police said that the deceased, Rana Pratap Bairagi, had one case filed against him at Abhaynagar police station and three at Keshabpur police station. However, the details of these cases are not immediately.

Confirming the matter, Monirampur police station’s officer-in-charge (OC) Md Raziullah Khan said the body has been recovered and preparations are underway to send it to the morgue of Jashore 250-bed General Hospital for post-mortem.

The OC added that the motive behind the killing is yet to be unravelled. Who carried out the murder is under investigation, and legal action is underway in this regard.