Two days into the gruesome murder of secular writer Niladri Chatterjee, Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Haque yesterday advised the free-thinkers not to hurt religious feelings through their writings.
Mentioning that it is a punishable offence, Shahidul said: “No one should cross the limit. And for hurting someone’s religious sentiment, the person will be punished by the law.”
Maximum punishment under the Penal Code and the ICT Act is 14 years of jail sentence.
Speaking at a press conference, the police chief also said that they do not support killing someone for writings. “If any person is hurt by any writing, s/he may take legal action. They can file a case with the police. Everyone should obey the law.”
He also asked the bloggers to contact with the police if they feel threatened. “The police will ensure their security.”
Shahidul claimed that they had not got any hit list of bloggers.
Regarding the police’s refusal of registering a GD that Niloy wanted to file in May, the IGP said that a police investigation committee was looking into the matter.
Ansar Al Bangla, which claimed responsibilities for the killing of Niladri – also known as Niloy Neel, alleged that the writer was an enemy of Islam.
RAB Director General Benazir Ahmed said that the so-called list of 84 bloggers contained pen names. “For this, it became difficult for the law enforcers to find them and give protection.”
About arresting Niloy’s killers, Benazir said that the elite force had the facilities to find criminals through digital movement tracking system.
One of the four killers had used mobile phone inside Niloy’s flat before he was hacked to death, victim’s family said.
At a meeting before the briefing, the IGP claimed that they were 80% successful in containing terrorism in the country. Since 2004, a total of 632 militant-related cases have been filed. Of those, police filed charge sheets in 516 cases and arrested 2,543 persons.
He said that in Avijit Roy murder case, the faces of the criminals had been identified but the police do not have information about their location and actual identity. “Charge sheet in Oyasiqur Rahman Babu murder case will be pressed soon.”
About the recent child murder incidents, Shahidul said that those crimes were not carried out in an organised manner. “The killers are psychopaths.”
He said that the police would submit charge sheets in Rabiul and Rakib murder cases any time this month, but the Rajon murder case might delay since the main accused is in Saudi Arabia. “If the procedure of bringing him back is delayed, the police will submit the charge sheet.”