Making her way through the crowd that gathered around the body of her husband at the car park of Kobi Sufia Kamal Hall of Dhaka University, she said, “I promise. I’ll come. You can’t live without me.”
Looking at his face, she continued, “I know you can’t live without me. Didn’t you say we’d go to Cox’s Bazar after the book fair? We all will go. I promise.”
Faisal Arefin Dipan he had left their residential quarters at the university like on any other day. He was supposed to return to Razia Rahman, senior medical officer of DU Medical Centre, after work.
He returned, but dead.
Around 11:30am yesterday, his father Prof Abul Quasem Fazlul Huq brought his body from Dhaka Medical College morgue as family members and relatives were waiting to see him for the last time.
Dipan, owner of Jagriti Prokashani, was found dead at his second-floor office in Aziz Market in the capital on Saturday evening after suspected militants hacked him.
His body was taken to DU central mosque for namaz-e-janaza, which was attended by writers, bloggers, academics, cultural activists and progressive-minded people.
Soon after finding his son dead on Saturday, Prof Abul Quasem said he doesn’t want a trial. Rather, he wanted “goodwill to prevail”.
Talking to reporters before the janaza, he expressed doubt whether the political parties have the willingness to bring changes.
“Does the Awami League, BNP, Jatiya Party or the Left want this? People have to demand a change. When we wanted Bangladesh, we achieved it. The British rule was over when we wanted an end to it.”
Talking about his son, Prof Quasem said, “He was an honest man and ran the publishing house, barely making a living. I don’t know of any enmity he had with anybody.”
The bereaved father was evidently tired of answering questions from journalists.
Dipan’s son Ridat, who came to the janaza after taking JSC exam that began yesterday, addressing all said, “Please pray for my father. He will find his place in heaven.”
Dipan was laid to rest at Azimpur Graveyard around 3:00pm.
Also on Saturday, another publisher, Shuddhoswar’s Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, was critically injured by machete-wielding assailants at his Lalmatia office. The attack left his two fellows — Ranadipam Basu and Tareque Rahim. Tareque was even shot in the chest.
Both Jagriti and Shuddhoswar published books written by Avijit Roy and both Dipan and Tutul had received threats on several occasions after Avijit’s killing, said their friends and colleagues.
A day after the attacks on Dipan and Tutul, Somoy Prakashan publisher Farid Ahmed received death threat through SMS.
“You have published many books of atheists, you have sinned. Be prepared for death!” read the message received around 9:48am.
Investigators said the threat was issued from Sylhet.
Farid lodged a general diary around 3:00pm yesterday with Dhanmondi Police Station, said Officer-in-Charge Nur-e-Azam.
‘IN THE DARK’
No case was filed in connection with Saturday’s incidents while police say they could not recover anything related to the murder or make any arrest.
Zafar Ali Biswas, inspector (investigation) of Shahbagh Police Station, said they are “still in the dark”.
Law enforcement and intelligent agencies yesterday collected footage of CCTV cameras installed at the entry points of Aziz Super Market.
A police official told The Daily Star that they are yet to get any clue about Dipan’s killers from the image — shot from 12:00 to 6:00pm Saturday.
DMP Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said, “This is not a typical crime but a pre-planned targeted killing. So it is difficult to capture the killers,” said Monirul.
Asked if such targeted attacks can be prevented, he said, “We need a special counterterrorism unit. As we don’t have any such unit, we are trying our best with our available resources.”
He added, “We are conducting threat analysis to prevent such attacks.”
Around 9:30 on Saturday, a group identifying itself as “Ansar Al Islam (AQIS) Bangladesh,” claimed responsibility for the twin incidents through an email sent to different media outlets.
“These secular and atheist publishers waged war against religion of Islam in every possible ways,” it said.
In August, a group using the same name claimed responsibility for the murder of Niloy Chowdhury Neel, one of the four secularist bloggers hacked to death by suspected militants.
Of the other three, Avijit was murdered in February, Oyasiqur Rahman in March and Ananta Bijoy Das in May.
Law Minister Anisul Huq yesterday urged the countrymen to provide investigators with information, if they find any, about the killers of bloggers and publisher Dipan.
AUTOPSY
Kazi Mohammed Abu Shama, acting head of forensic department at DMC, who conducted autopsy of Dipan, yesterday said there were multiple hacking injuries on the back of the neck and one injury was 11 inch long and four inch deep.
It seemed that the attackers tried to cut off the head. Two stabs in the head caused internal haemorrhage in the brain and He died within a minute or two after he was hit in the head.
Probably the attackers were three to five in number. There was no sign of resistance by Dipan or the killers binding him with rope.
MEDICAL BOARD FOR THREE
The condition of Tutul, Ranadipam and Tareque improved slightly, said Dr Khwaja Abdul Gafur, assistant director (administration) of DMCH yesterday afternoon.
He, however, said Tutul and Tareque are not yet out of danger.
A nine-member medical board is treating the three, he added.
Tutul and Ranadipam were shifted to cabins early morning while Tareque was taken to a cabin in the afternoon.
Earlier, Tareque underwent an operation but the bullet stuck in his body is yet to be removed. Doctors are waiting for his condition to improve further to conduct another surgery.
Family members have called for adequate security for the injured.
Source: The Daily Star
