The US Federal Bureau of Investigation, better known as FBI, has received the evidence collected in connection with blogger-writer Avijit Roy’s murder.
“The evidence has been handed over to FBI around 1pm today [Wednesday]. They will now be tested in the FBI’s laboratory in the US,” said Monirul Islam, chief of the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), the first party investigator of the murder.
Monirul also told reporters at DMP’s Media and Community Centre yesterday that a total of 13 items of evidence were formally handed over to the bureau.
Sources said the evidence include two machetes, one blood-stained shirt, papers, a jeans pant, an injection ampule marked “Rotex medica trittau,” two syringes, a tube of Savlon cream, four Ranitide pills, four Napa pills, a pack of surgical cotton, one black sunglass, one Matador ballpoint pen, pieces of Avijit’s nails, one long strand of hair and a black schoolbag.
On Tuesday, a Dhaka court ordered DB to get the evidence tested by the FBI for DNA traces. The order came in response to petitions filed by DB Inspector Fazlur Rahman, also investigation officer in the case.
“They [FBI] can collect the DNA samples from the evidence and match finger prints,” said Monirul. He also said the FBI agents will stay in Dhaka for a few more days.
Inquired why investigators are taking so much time to arrest the suspects, The DB boss said the fake Facebook accounts related to some of the suspects are making their task difficult.
Earlier, detectives made a list of 10 suspects on the basis of a statement given by Shafiur Rahman Farabi during interrogation and his Facebook posts.
Now DB is mainly trying to track down militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team’s leader Redwanul Azad Rana, also an accused in Ahmed Rajeeb Haider murder case. They got this name from Farabi as well, sources said.
Detectives have already conducted several raids around the country including Rana’s village home in Dagonbhuyan of Feni, but failed to find him.
On February 26, Bangladesh-born US citizen Avijit Roy was killed and his wife Rafida Ahmed Bonya critically injured with sharp weapons by unidentified miscreants in Dhaka.
The expatriate engineer couple returned home a few days before the attack to attend the launching of Avijit’s two new books in the February book fair.