By Mizan Rahman
Dhaka
Two priests of two different churches in southwestern Khulna district of Bangladesh have received death threat over mobile phone from an unknown caller, police said yesterday.
Father Joy Sarker and Bishop Ramen Boiragi of Sonadanga Bishop Bhaban in Khulna were threatened on Friday, a Sonadanga model police
station official said.
The police official said an unknown man called Sarker on his mobile phone and threatened to shoot him and Boiragi to death.
It was still unclear why such a threat was issued for them, he said, adding that police were suspecting personal
enmity as a likely motive.
Ten priests in Rangpur and another one in Dinajpur, Father Carlos Babu Totyo of a Catholic church at Birganj, received the death threats on Wednesday.
The threat in the northern district was issued by post and the one in Dinajpur in a text message on mobile phone on Wednesday.
These came a week after unidentified assailants had shot Italian priest Piero
Parolari in Dinajpur.
Militant group Islamic State had reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack on Father Parolari and posted the threat to Father Totyo.
Father Luke Sarkar, a Bangladesh national, was knifed in his church in Pabna on October 5. He has recovered from his injuries.
Meanwhile, the Australian government has said it will withdraw its volunteers from Bangladesh by December 31.
“We will withdraw Australian government funded volunteers by December 31, as it is becoming increasingly difficult for them to undertake their assignments,” according to a travel advice issued by the Australian High Commission in Dhaka.
The government also authorised the dependents of posted Australian staff to return to Australia on a
voluntary basis.
The announcement came hours after the attack on a Shia mosque in Bogra that left one person killed and three others injured.
The advisory said the IS on November 27 claimed another attack against a Shia mosque in northern Bangladesh.
“We advise you to exercise a high degree of caution in Bangladesh due to the high threat of terrorist attack and the uncertain political situation. Pay close attention to your personal security at all times. Monitor the media and other sources about possible security risks.”