Kolkata/Dhaka (PTI): The media wing of the interim government of Bangladesh on Sunday said that the person recently killed in the country was not a Hindu priest and his death was linked to theft at a crematorium, and not communal violence.

Dismissing claims made by ISKCON Kolkata regarding the alleged killing of a person from the Hindu community in Bangladesh, the official Facebook page of the 'Chief Adviser's Press Wing Facts' cited inputs from ISKCON Bangladesh officials and Natore Police to assert that the killing was likely the result of a robbery attempt.

The clarification came a day after ISKCON Kolkata spokesperson Radharamn Das shared a video on X, claiming that a "Hindu priest, identified as Tarun Kumar Das, was murdered by extremists" at a cremation ground temple in Bangladesh's Natore.

PTI could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, which purportedly showed the victim's body with hands and feet tied. Das alleged that the priest was tortured before being killed and that the temple had been looted.

Quoting Natore Sadar police station officer-in-charge Md Mahbubor Rahman, the statement by the CA press wing said, "Based on information gathered between Saturday and Sunday morning, it is initially believed that some drug addicts attempted to steal from the crematorium. All possible motives are being investigated."

The press wing also cited Satya Narayan Roy Tipu, general secretary of the cremation committee in Natore, who clarified, "Tarun Kumar was not a member of the cremation committee, nor was he a priest. He was mentally unstable."

Hrishikesh Gauranga Das, a member of ISKCON Bangladesh's executive committee, was also quoted in the press wing statement, saying, “Tarun Kumar was not affiliated to ISKCON or any other organisation.”