Bangladeshi-American man jailed in US for killing in Munshiganj

A United States court has sentenced a Bangladeshi-American man to 15 years in prison for killing his uncle in Bangladesh over a dispute involving ancestral property, five years after the murder took place in Munshiganj.

According to a statement published by the US Department of Justice, the convicted man, Gannet Rosario, pleaded guilty to the killing of his uncle, Michael Rosario. Both were US citizens of Bangladeshi origin.

Court documents cited in the statement said Gannet, a resident of the Bronx in New York, travelled to Bangladesh in 2021 along with family members. The victim and the accused had reportedly been involved in a long-running dispute over inherited property.

On June 11, 2021, while staying at their ancestral home in Munshiganj, Gannet allegedly became enraged after overhearing Michael making offensive remarks about him from inside a nearby bedroom. 

Prosecutors said he then retrieved a shotgun from his room and fired through the window of his uncle’s room, killing him on the spot.

Gannet later returned to the United States in July 2023. He was formally charged with the murder in April the following year.

The investigation was conducted by FBI’s Los Angeles and New York field offices, with assistance from FBI legal attaché in Bangladesh and the US Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs.

The verdict was announced by Assistant Attorney General Matthew R Galeotti and US Attorney Jay Clayton, according to the statement.

SH