A series of murders in Bangladesh in 2019 has drawn attention to a grim pattern: men found dead with handwritten notes tied around their necks, accusing them of rape. The most recent case involved a man named Sajal, who had been accused of raping a teenage student. His body was found lying face down with a wound near his left eye that appeared to be a bullet wound, and a note hanging from his neck read: "I am Sajal. I am the rapist of [victim's name]. This is my punishment."

Mahmud Hasan, chairman of Shaulakania Union, Bangladesh's smallest local government unit, told Al Jazeera that the discovery felt both strange and frightening, yet also like justice. The killings came amid public anger over rising rape cases in the South Asian country, and within weeks of one another a spate of similar deaths followed. A week before Sajal's death, two other men were found with similar notes: one body was discovered in a village in the south-western district of Jhalakathi, and another, identified as Ripon, 39, was found in Savar, nearly 200 miles away, with a note reading "I am the prime accused in a rape case." Ripon was a key suspect in the gang rape and murder of a female garment worker.S1S2

A third man, Rakib Molla, 28, accused of being Sajal's accomplice, was found near a brickfield in Jhalakathi with multiple wounds to his body and head. His note was signed with an "alter ego", reading: "I am Rakib who raped [victim's name]. This is the fate of the rapist. Rapists be aware ... Hercules." Police have been unable to identify "Hercules" or the people behind the killings. Sohel Rana, Additional Inspector General of Police Headquarters, said local police were investigating and that it was not yet clear whether the same person or group was responsible for all the murders, adding: "This Hercules could be anyone."S1S2

Relatives of two of the victims said the men had been picked up by plain-clothed people before their bodies were found. Abul Kalam, Molla's father, said his son had left the village for Nabinagar, near the capital, after the rape allegations against him, and was taken away by a black microbus while drinking tea with a friend. The friend later said police had picked Molla up, and when his mother tried to file a missing-person complaint the police station refused to take it. Kalam said he believed the police had killed his son. Sajal's wife, Shamsun Nahar, also spoke about the case.S1S2