Investigators have claimed to have identified two of the killers of secular blogger Avijit Roy, a Bangladeshi-American, but are still to trace their locations.
One of the investigators, who is a senior police official, told the Dhaka Tribune on condition of anonymity that one of them is Redowanul Azad Rana and the other is one of his followers.
He also said that the duo might have fled by crossing the border of a neighbouring country soon after the murder.
On Saturday, a regional branch of global terrorist organisation Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility of Avijit’s murder through a video message circulated on the Internet.
When asked about this, the investigator said they are not so sure about the claim.
“We have been saying from the beginning that a local extremist group named Ansarullah Bangla Team [ABT] is behind the murder. There can be links between ABT and Al-Qaeda. But we cannot say for certain that Al-Qaeda is directly involved with the murder,” he said.
Two months have already elapsed but the only notable progress in the case is the arrest of Shafiur Rahman Farabi, who had threatened Avijit on Facebook on many occasions. Although, the Detective Branch of police has been investigating the case, the arrest was made by RAB.
Officials of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) visited Bangladesh to assist the local investigators in solving the murder case. The US investigators collected DNA samples and other evidence, but there has been no breakthrough from that end either.
Asaduzzaman Miah, commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said: “Farabi used to threaten Avijit on Facebook. We have arrested him. But our officials are now trying to get hold of those who staged the murder at the spot.”
Avijit’s father Prof Ajoy Roy, a former professor of physics at Dhaka University, is disappointed with the progress of the investigation.
When contacted yesterday, he told the Dhaka Tribune: “I do not have any idea about what is happening in the case. The investigators told me that two of the killers have been identified. But there will not be any relief until all the killers are arrested.”
Sources in the DB police said they are now waiting for the DNA test reports from the FBI.
“Once we get that report in our hands, the investigation will make progress,” the source said.
