New York man jailed 15 years for killing uncle in Bangladesh

A New York man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the murder of a US national in Bangladesh, according to the US Department of Justice.

The convict, Ganet Rozario, 54, a US citizen from New York, had earlier pleaded guilty to one count of foreign murder of a US national.

According to court documents and statements read in court, he used a shotgun to kill his uncle, Michael Rozario, in 2021.

Both men were naturalised US citizens originally from Munshiganj and had been involved in a long-running dispute over their family home there.

During a visit to Bangladesh in 2021, both men were staying at their house in Munshiganj. On the evening of 11 June 2021, Ganet Rozario went outside the house to smoke near his uncle’s bedroom window. While outside, he overheard his uncle insulting him, according to court papers.

He then went back inside, took a shotgun and returned outside. After shouting words to the effect that his uncle “would not see the sun tomorrow”, he fired a single shot through an opaque window shutter.

The shot struck Michael Rozario in the stomach and abdomen, killing him.

Ganet Rozario returned to the United States in July 2023 and was indicted in April 2024.

The sentencing was announced by Assistant Attorney General A Tysen Duva of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and US Attorney Jay Clayton for the Southern District of New York.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Los Angeles and New York field offices investigated the case.

The Justice Department said the FBI’s legal attaché office in Dhaka, its Office of International Affairs and the government of Bangladesh provided assistance in the case. The Justice Department thanks the Bangladesh government for the cooperation.