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Journalist Rana Pratap Bairagi Killed in Bangladesh; PEC Demands Justice

By AT News |

Amid escalating political unrest ahead of its national elections scheduled for February 12, 2026, Bangladesh has recorded the killing of journalist Rana Pratap Bairagi, who has become the first journalist worldwide to be murdered this year. The global media safety and rights organisation Press Emblem Campaign (PEC) has strongly condemned the killing and demanded a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

According to local media reports, Bairagi (45), a resident of Arua village in the Jessore region of southern Bangladesh, was fatally shot in the head by three assailants on January 5, 2026. The editor of the Bengali daily Dainik BD Khabar was found dead at Kopalia Bazar, with his throat also reportedly slit.

Bairagi, the son of a Hindu schoolteacher from Keshabpur upazila, was also engaged in running an ice-making factory at Kapalia market.

Expressing deep concern, PEC President Blaise Lempen urged Nobel laureate Dr Muhammad Yunus, head of Bangladesh’s interim government, to personally intervene and ensure justice for the bereaved family. Further details are available at PEC’s official website (www.pressemblem.ch/pec-news).

PEC’s South and Southeast Asia representative, Nava Thakuria, noted that Bangladesh has recently drawn international attention due to ongoing socio-political turmoil, during which several religious minority families have reportedly been attacked by radical elements across the Muslim-majority nation of over 170 million people.

The country witnessed the murder of five media professionals last year as well. They were Assaduzzaman Tuhin (Dainik Pratidiner Kagoj), Bibhuranjan Sarkar (Ajker Patrika), Wahed-uz-Zaman Bulu (Dainik Ajker Kagoj), Khandahar Shah Alam (Dainik Matrijagat), and Imdadul Haque Milon (Bartaman Somoy).

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