People from various social, cultural, professional, and political spheres gathered at Raju Bhaskarja in Dhaka University around 11:15am on Friday to protest the killing of blogger and writer Avijit Roy.
They demanded the immediate arrest of the killers and said the attack was on freedom of speech and democracy.
When mentioning the similar murders of Humayun Azad, Rajib Haider, and others by fundamentalists and militants, speakers at the mass protest termed the attack “an unacceptable failure of the government and the state.”
Human rights activist Dr Hameeda Hossain expressed her frustation at the inactivity of police and people during the attack and stressed the need for united resistance in order to avoid repetition of such brutality.
Journalist Kamal Lohani said: “Now the task for all of us is to increase resistance against these criminals who perpetrated the heinous act.”
Professor Anwar Hossain said: “There must be a link between the ongoing anarchy, in the name of a BNP-Jamaat’s strike, with the attack. The government cannot avoid its responsibility as it has failed to try similar crimes before.”
Human rights activist Khushi Kabir said the masterminds behind such heinous killings want to resist free thinking, independence, and a democratic atmosphere.
International Crime Tribunal Prosecutor Rana Das Gupta said the careless on-duty policemen must be brought to book and demanded immediate punishment of the attackers.
Meanwhile, Gonojagoron Moncho activists also staged a mass sit-in in front of the National Museum in Shahbagh at around 10am and vowed to continue their movement until the trial of Avijit’s killers is held.
