- Professor Ajoy Roy, father of slain writer-blogger Avijit Roy, speaks at a solidarity rally organised by Gonojagoron Moncho in the capital’s Shahbagh yesterday. He was invited to speak as his son’s publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan was killed and three others were injured in similar attacks on October 31
A high official of an investigating agency has told the Dhaka Tribune, on condition of anonymity, that detectives had created a sketch of the Lalamatia attackers using descriptions from the survivors of the attack.
“We are now trying to arrest the suspects by matching them against the sketch,” he said.
Around 2:30pm on October 31, Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, publisher of slain blogger Avijit Roy, was attacked at his Shuddhashar publication office in Lalmatia. Blogger Ranadipam Basu and poet Tareq Rahim, both friends of Tutul who were present at the office, were also injured in the attack.
In a separate development, an investigating agency source confirmed that detectives had made progress in the investigation into the murder of Faisal Arefin Dipan, who’s dead body was found in Aziz Super Market at 6:30pm on the same day. Dipan was also a publisher of Avijit Roy’s work.
Masruqure Rahman Khaled, deputy commissioner of DB (South) police, told the Dhaka Tribune that investigators had found leads in the Dipan murder case by analysing CCTV video footage from the market.
“We are hopeful about getting clues from technological sources and phone call details of the area during and after the likely time of the murder,” he said.
Sources said an analysis of the footage from eight CCTV cameras at Aziz Super Market had yielded images of the possible murder suspects.
According to the CCTV footage, publisher Dipan arrived at the market by private car around 2:10pm, and seven or eight suspicious looking men were seen hovering around his vehicle.
Two of them were recorded on camera writing something while standing in front and behind Dipan’s car, while another spoke on a cell phone and two others stood to the side carrying a bag on their shoulders.
Aziz Super Market sources said Dipan went to his Jagriti Prokashoni office around 2:45pm after having lunch. They said the men who were seen to arrive at the market at different times all left the market together after 3:00pm.
The Dhaka Tribune has learned that DB early yesterday picked up a madrasa teacher from Feni district for suspected involvement in the attacks.
A Dhaka Metropolitan Police DB team conducted a drive in Uttar Tarakuch village of Fulgazi police station under Feni district around 3am and arrested Mufti Jahid Hassan Maruf.
Mufti Habib Ullah, father of Jahid, told the Dhaka Tribune that a team of DB police from Dhaka went to their house around 3am and started searching the house and the madrasa.
DB police arrested Jahid saying he has involved in militant activities and the murder of Dipan, Habib said.
“My son completed his schooling at a madrasa in Chhagolnaiya in Feni and received a degree in Islamic Law from Patia Madrasa in Chittagong,” Habib said, adding that his son was not involved in militancy.
Mahbub Alam, deputy commissioner of DB (East) police, told the Dhaka Tribune yesterday that Jahid had been detained for questioning but had been “handed over to his guardians again.”
“No one has been arrested or detained in the blogger and publisher attack cases so far,” he added.
Meanwhile, Gonojagoron Moncho, at its solidarity rally in the capital’s Shahbagh area yesterday, said it would launch tougher movement if Dipan’s killers are not arrested within two weeks.
Imran H Sarker, spokesperson of the platform, said they would announce a tougher programme from a mass rally, to be held on November 20, if the government fails to arrest the culprits by that time, UNB reported.
The rally was attended, among others, by Prof Ajoy Roy, father of slain blogger Avijit Roy, as well as freedom fighter Ferdousi Priyabhashini.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
