Although no one has yet been arrested for the killing of Niladri Chatterjee, the Detective Branch of police (DB) yesterday claimed that Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT) was responsible.
They cited similarities in the modus operandi and social media chatter between this and previous murders of bloggers that are believed to have been carried out by ABT sleeper cells.
Joint Commissioner of DB police Monirul Islam said: “We suspect that a small sleeper cell is responsible for the Niloy murder.”
DB high officials said top ABT leader Tahmid Al Adnani and Redowanul Azad Rana planned the killing from abroad.
A DB team lead by Deputy Commissioner Mahbub Alam visited the scene of the crime yesterday and spoke with the victim’s wife, neighbours and witnesses to the murder.
“The killers walked quickly out of the house and fled in an auto-rickshaw standing a little distance from the crime scene,” a DB high official said, quoting a witness statement. Witnesses gave investigators descriptions of the suspected killers.
“Crime scene samples have been sent to the Criminal Investigation Department from forensic tests. We are tracing social media and internet accounts as well,” Monirul said.
Monirul denied having a list of bloggers who had been threatened. He said both those who write blogs that hurt religious sentiments and those who conduct killings were extremists.
“We are working to take action against both parties,” he said.