IS claims Panchagarh priest murder: SITE

By Star Online Report
21 February 2016, 16:36 PM
UPDATED 22 February 2016, 00:07 AM
Terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for murdering a Hindu priest in Debiganj upazila of Panchagarh, US-based SITE Intelligence Group says.

Terrorist outfit Islamic State (IS) has claimed responsibility for murdering a Hindu priest in Debiganj upazila of Panchagarh, US-based SITE Intelligence Group said today.
The priest Jogeshwar Dasa Dhikari, 50, was killed and a devotee shot at when miscreants attacked a Hindu temple in Sunday morning.
Deceased Jogeshwar Dasa Dhikari was the priest of Sri Sri Shantu Santo Gaurio monastery on the bank of Karatoa River.
The SITE Intelligence Group, a for-profit Maryland-based company that tracks online activity of White supremacist and jihadi organisations, had earlier reported that said IS claimed the responsibility for the murders of two foreign nationals in Bangladesh -- Italian Cesare Tavella and Japanese Kunio Hoshi – and Hossaini Dalan bomb attack.

READ more: Attack on Hindu temple: Priest killed, devotee shot

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Locals gather at Sri Sri Shinto Santo Gaurio monastery in Debiganj upazila of Panchagarh after miscreants killed a priest there on February 21, 2016. Photo: STAR
Injured Gopal Chandra Roy, 32, was rushed to Rangpur Medical College and Hospital, our Thakurgaon correspondent reports quoting Md Kafil Uddin, assistant superintendent of police in Panchagarh.
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According to the police officer, unidentified criminals started to pelt stones at the temple around 6:30am. As the priest came out hearing the sound of stones hitting the temple, the miscreants stabbed him indiscriminately.

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Relatives mourn death of a priest of a Hindu temple in Debiganj upazila of Panchagarh Sunday morning, February 21, 2016. Photo: Star

The assailants also fired several gunshots and exploded crude bombs while fleeing the spot, leaving Gopal Chandra injured, the ASP said.