Strongly condemning the brutal murder of Bangladeshi-American blogger and writer Avijit Roy, the United States has said it would "stand ready to assist in the investigation if asked."
The attack was horrific in its brutality and cowardice, US state department spokesperson Jen Psaki told journalists at a regular press briefing in Washington, DC on Friday.
The spokesperson said: “Avijit was a journalist, a humanist, a husband, and a friend, and we extend our condolences to his family and friends. He was taken from us in a shocking act of violence.
“This was not just an attack against a person, but a cowardly assault on the universal principles enshrined in Bangladesh's constitution and the country's proud tradition of free intellectual and religious discourse.”
Asked about the possible motive behind the murder, Psaki said: “We don’t have more information at this point. We, of course, will provide consular assistance as is appropriate.”
“We also stand ready to assist in the investigation if asked. Clearly, we know his background, which was why I outlined it, but don’t have anything to ascribe in terms of a motive in this case.”
The attack on author Avijit Roy and his wife was carried out by professional machete-wielding killers in a premeditated manner, investigators have said, adding that initial leads suggest that fundamentalist militants were behind the killing.
“Two persons took part in the killing that lasted around two minutes. From the scene [of the murder], we have collected two machetes and a handbag; but both of the machetes’ handles were wrapped in paper, so it was not possible to get any fingerprint from it,” Shirjaul Islam, officer-in-charge of Shahbagh police station, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Based on previous incidents and analysing the method of the attack, the police are now investigating militant links to the killing, the OC added.
Avijit, 45, was hacked to death and his wife Rafida Ahmed Bonna, 35, was seriously injured in an attack by unidentified assailants near the TSC roundabout on Thursday night.
Only hours after the death of the author and blogger, the responsibility for the crime was claimed by a Twitter account reportedly belonging to “Ansar Bangla 7” – a group believed to be an Islamist outfit.
“Allahu Akbar..A great success today here in #Bangladesh. Target is down -:- here in #Dhaka,” read the tweet by the group.
“Anti-Islamic blogger US-Bengali citizen Avijit Roy is assassinated in capital Dhaka due to his crime against #Islam,” another tweet also followed soon after.
Family sources said Avijit – a naturalised US citizen who lived in the US state of Georgia – came to Bangladesh with his wife on February 15 after two new books by him were published at the Ekushey Book Fair.
Since arriving in Dhaka, the author, who rose to prominence with his Bangla-language blog site Mukto-mona, had been visiting the book fair every day – reportedly staying there until the end of business hours.
During this period, the perpetrators might have monitored the movement of Avijit to plan the attack, Shahbagh OC Shirajul said. An inquest report has also found that the main target of the culprits was to murder Avijit, he added.