Secular blogger and war crimes trial campaigner Niladri Chatterjee was hacked to death by four unidentified assailants at his Goran residence in Dhaka yesterday.
Also known as Niloy Neel on blogging platforms and Facebook, the youth aged around 30 was killed with machetes around 1:30pm.
Read More: Case filed overNiloy's murder
Niloy, who worked at an NGO, had rented the flat on the fourth floor of a building in the area two years back, identifying himself as a Muslim named Niloy Chowdhury. He used to stay with his wife Ashamoni and sister-in-law.
Recently he was trying to leave the country out of fear as three secularist activists had been killed by the militants since February. He also received threats several times.
Take a look: No progress in last three blogger murder cases
A group named Ansar Al Islam, believed to be banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team, has claimed responsibility for the murder. In an email sent to the media in the afternoon, they said that Niloy had been killed for his blasphemous activities, and warned others of similar consequences for demeaning the Almighty and the Prophet.
Ansar Al Islam said they were the Bangladesh branch of al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), which in May claimed responsibilities for the murder of several secularist activists since February 2013.
Take a look: AQIS says its members killed Niloy Neel
On his Facebook account and a blogging platform named Istishon, Niloy used to write against militant activities, war criminals and Jamaat-e-Islami; on women and children rights, and other social issues.
He completed master’s in philosophy from Dhaka University two years ago. A member of Bangladesh Rationalists’ Society, he was also vocal against the killing of bloggers.
Niloy’s friends said that he was critic of all religions. But no case was filed against him for hurting the religious sentiment of any religion.
Also Read: Who was Niloy Neel?
His wife Ashamoni said that one of the assailants, aged around 22 and wearing a T-shirt and jeans, first entered the flat saying that he would rent it and that the house-owner had asked him to see the condition.
She found it suspicious as she saw the stranger trying something with his mobile phone. She told Niloy to ask the person to leave the flat. Niloy then told the stranger to talk to the landlord.
Read More: Listed activists killed one after another
But three men entered the flat all of a sudden and one of them forcefully held Ashamoni and her sister in the balcony at gunpoint.
Ashamoni said: “Then a bearded man aged around 30-35 began chopping Niloy indiscriminately in the bedroom chanting ‘Naraye Takbir, Allahu Akbar.’ Two of his accomplices also hacked Niloy at that time. The killers left the scene within five minutes chanting the same.
“I screamed from the balcony for help but no one came forward.”
Also Read: UN condemns blogger Niloy killing
While leaving the building, the killers wiped their machetes with a piece of cloth on the ground floor, and then put those in the two bags they were carrying, a neighbour told the Dhaka Tribune.
Morgue sources said that Niloy died on the spot and that there were at least 20 marks of injuries on his body.
Ashamoni was enraged seeing many people at the flat after the killing. She demanded arrest of the killers. “When will the government take strict measures to try the blogger killers?” she said.
Also Read: Amnesty calls for trial of killers
House-owner Shamsul Haque said he had not known Niloy’s real name. “Niloy rented the flat identifying himself as Niloy Chowdhury. He said he was a Muslim.”
Police recovered Niloy’s body in the afternoon and sent it to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for a post-mortem examination.
Niloy’s uncle Nirmal Chatterjee last night said that they would file a case today.
Read More: Police turned Niloy away
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan said that they had taken the matter seriously and that officials concerned were asked to take all necessary measures.
In protest against the murder of Niloy, Gonojagoron Moncho brought out a procession at Shahbagh yesterday. Several rights groups also condemned the murder.
In a Facebook post on May 15, Niloy said that he had been followed by two persons and that the police had denied to file a general diary. One officer even suggested that he leave the country as soon as possible.
Earlier, he was threatened with death several times by unidentified persons. His family members said that Niloy had been trying to go abroad to save his life.
On August 3, Niloy on Facebook wrote that he had been mentioned on a list of anti-Islam persons made by Hizb ut-Tahrir leader Shafiur Rahman Farabi in a blog. Farabi is now in jail for instigating the murder of Avijit.
Series of killings
Niloy’s killing occurs two months after Mukto-Mona blogger and writer Ananta Bijoy Das was hacked to death on a street in Sylhet city by masked assailants on May 12.
Another secular activist Oyasiqur Rahman Babu was hacked to death in the capital by three people on March 30.
On February 26, Mukto-Mona blog founder and former Buet teacher Avijit Roy was killed by religious extremists during the Ekushey Book Fair. His wife Rafida Ahmed Bonya sustained injuries during the attack. Both US citizens, the couple had come to Dhaka two weeks back.
Rajshahi University teacher Prof AKM Shafiul Islam was killed on November 15 last year. Daffodil University student and secular activist Ashraful Alam was killed on September 30 last year while war crimes trial campaigner Ahmed Rajeeb Haider on February 15, 2013.
Secular writer Asif Mohiuddin was attack ed on January 13, 2013 and Rakib Mamun on June 24, 2014. They narrowly escaped death.
The AQIS in May this claimed responsibilities for all these murders and the two attacks.
AQIS again
In an email sent to media yesterday afternoon, Ansar Al Islam said their men had killed Niloy.
The email was sent from ansar.al.islam.bd@gmail.com. Sent by Mufti Abdullah Ashraf, spokesperson of Ansar Al Islam, the release says: “Alhamdulillah! Mujahidin of Ansar Al Islam (AQIS, Bangladesh Branch) carried out an operation to slaughter an enemy of Allah (swt) and His Messenger (peace & blessings be upon him), whose name is Niloy Chowdhury Neel.
“By the permission of Allah (swt) this operation took place today (7th August, 2015) at 1:45pm at Khilgaon! Alhamdulillah.
“We, al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent, claim responsibility for this operation as vengeance for the honour of the messenger of Allah (pbuh).
“And, we declare war against these worst enemies of Allah (swt) and His Messenger (pbuh). We will all our effort to destroy them along with their alies [sic] insha’Allah.”
It added that the killing had healed the hearts of Muslims and the “righteous scholars of this land. And the hearts of hypocrites and disbelievers are burning with rage.”
The organisation also mentioned that they would continue to launch attacks on the enemies of Allah and the Prophet. “If your ‘freedom of speech’ maintains no limits, then widen your chests for the ‘freedom of our machetes,’” the email reads.
Ansarullah Bangla Team was banned on May 25. Its chief Mufti Jasim Uddin Rahmani is currently facing trial for the killing of Rajeeb Haider and the attack on Asif Mohiuddin. He preached to his followers that atheists should be killed.
In his sermons, Jasim mentioned that al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and Taliban chief Mullah Omar were his spiritual leaders.
Detectives say Ansarullah is now working together with the other banned militant organisations to establish an Islamic state in the country. Militant activities have risen up significantly since last year after al-Qaeda chief Ayman Al-Zawahiri in a video message called for floating their wing in the subcontinent.
Elite force Rapid Action Battalion on July 2 claimed to have arrested 12 militants including the Bangladesh chief coordinator of AQIS, Mufti Mainul Islam alias Mahim, from different areas of the capital with huge explosives from their possessions.