Amnesty International has urged the government to bring the killers of secular blogger Niladri Chatterjee to book.
The London-based organisation made the call in a statement released on Friday.
It also called for carrying out thorough and effective investigations into the brutal murder.
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“Thorough, effective, independent and impartial investigations must be carried out promptly to ensure that all those responsible are brought to justice in fair trials without recourse to the death penalty," said David Griffiths, South Asia Research Director at Amnesty International.
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He also said the Bangladeshi authorities must send a strong message that killings aimed at silencing dissenting voices are despicable and will not be tolerated.
Griffiths said: “This spate of savage killings must end here. There is little doubt that these especially brutal killings are designed to sow fear and to have a chilling effect on free speech. This is unacceptable.
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“The price for holding opinions and expressing them freely must not be death. The Bangladeshi authorities now have an urgent duty to make clear that no more attacks like this will be tolerated."
Also known as Niloy Neel on blogging platforms and Facebook, Niladri Chatterjee was killed with machetes by four unidentified assailants at his Goran residence in Dhaka around 1:30pm Friday.
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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.
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.