A 62-year-old Hindu rice trader was hacked to death inside his shop in Bangladesh’s Mymensingh district on Monday night, just three days before the country goes to the polls, local media reports stated on Tuesday. The incident raises fresh concerns over the security and safety of minority communities in the country.The victim has been identified as Susen Chandra Sarkar, owner of Bhai Bhai Enterprise at the Bogar Bazar intersection in Trishal upazila. Local police said unidentified assailants entered his shop around 11 pm, attacked him with a sharp weapon and closed the shutters before fleeing the scene. Family members found the victim covered in blood the next morning and rushed him to Mymensingh Medical College Hospital, where he was declared dead.Trishal police station chief Muhammad Firoz Hossain said an investigation had been launched and the body had been sent for a post-mortem examination. No arrests had been made so far.Sarkar’s son, Sujan Sarkar, told local media that the family had been in the rice business for many years and there were no known disputes with anyone. He alleged that the attackers also looted several hundred thousand taka from the shop after killing his father. He urged authorities to swiftly identify and punish those responsible.This comes amid a string of violent incidents against country’s Hindu minority in recent months. Human rights groups and community organisations have warned that attacks on minorities have surged amid political tensions ahead of the General Election slated for February 12 — the first since former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was ousted in mass protests in 2024.The Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council and other advocacy groups have documented a rise in communal violence, including killings, attacks on places of worship and reported assaults on Hindu civilians, prompting calls for stronger protection measures for minority communities.