Police in western Bangladesh said on Wednesday they have armed villagers with bamboo sticks and whistles in an effort to deter Islamist militants from attacking people of minority faiths.
Officers said they wanted to empower people to act against militants who have killed dozens of secular activists, Hindus and other minorities across the country in recent years.
The move comes after a Hindu priest was found slaughtered in a rice field in western Bangladesh, the latest in a series of gruesome murders targeting secular campaigners and religious minorities in the mainly Muslim country.