Hindu holy man hacked to death in Bangladesh

Assailants hacked a Hindu holy man to death yesterday in northern Bangladesh and fled without anyone witnessing the attack, which police suspect was carried out by Islamist militants who have waged a violent campaign against the country’s secular writers, gay rights activists, and religious minorities.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the killing of 60-year-old Nitya Ranjan Pandey while he was taking a walk at dawn near his ashram in Pabna, about 275km from Dhaka, local police chief Abdullah Al Hasan said.

He died at the spot, said Mr Hasan.