Three years after the murder of US-based Bangladesh blogger Avijit Roy, investigators apparently do not have any idea of the whereabouts of five of the accused, including militant leader and sacked army personnel Syed Ziaul Haque alias Zia.
The deadline for submitting the investigation report of the case was extended 35 times, as the Detective Branch (DB) could not come up with any conclusion in their investigation while Avijit’s father Ajay Roy is patiently awaits justice.
On February 26 of 2015, US-based Bangladeshi blogger Avijit Roy was murdered near the Teacher-Student Centre of Dhaka University in an attack that also left his wife severely wounded. Avijit’s father Ajay Roy, a former professor of the Dhaka University, filed a case at Shahbagh police station.
The case was transferred to the Detective Police for investigation. Three months ago it was handed over to the Counter Terrorism and Transmission Crime (CTTC) unit.
CTTC unit chief Monirul Islam told reporters on Wednesday that they had information that sacked Major Zia is absconding.
He said: “We know that Zia was in the country a few months ago. But we have no specific information at the moment whether he in the country or abroad.
“However, we believe that if he is living or active in the country, we would have received information about him from our intelligence. So it can be assumed that Zia may be staying abroad or remaining ineffective in the underground.”
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Munir also mentioned that three of the arrested accused in the case had revealed in their confessional statements that Zia was present at the spot when the attack took place.
It was also revealed by the confessional statements that a total of nine people, divided into two groups, carried out the attack, he added.
The three suspects who gave confessional statements before the court are Mozammel Hussain alias Saimon, Arafat Rahman alias
Siam alias Sajjad, and Abu Siddiq Sohel alias Sakib alias Sajid alias Shahab.
“Earlier, RAB [Rapid Action Battalion] arrested another seven suspects, but it was found that they were not involved in the case. If we can arrest one or two more, then we can come to a better understanding,” Monirul said.
So far, 11 of the accused have been arrested. Two among them have already died.
The CTTC chief also said five people, including Zia, who were involved in the killing, are still absconding. “We are trying to arrest them. Even if we can not catch them, we will soon submit the charge sheet.”
Zia has been on the run ever since his expulsion from the army after a failed coup in 2011. Although initially he was linked with banned Islamist group Hizb-ut-Tahrir, he has turned out to be one of the top leaders of Ansarullah Bangla Team. The group has been operating under the name of Ansar Al Islam after Ansarullah was banned.
Tuesday, July 21, 2026
