IS claims Panchagarh priest murder: SITE

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

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.

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.

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