DB takes over investigation

With no visible progress of the probe into Saturday's attacks on publishers and bloggers, which left one dead and three injured, Detective Branch of police was given the charge of the investigation yesterday.

DB south division would investigate the murder case filed with Shahbagh Police Station while the west division would look into the case filed with Mohammadpur Police Station, said Muntasirul Islam, deputy commissioner (media wing) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.

Razia Rahman, wife of publisher Faisal Arefin Dipan, filed a case with Shahbagh Police Station on Monday, around 47 hours after Dipan was killed in his Jagriti Prokashani office in Aziz Super Market.

Almost at the same time he was killed, three armed youths entered the office of Shuddhoswar Prokashani in Lalmatia and hacked publisher-owner Ahmedur Rashid Chowdhury Tutul and two writer-bloggers Tareq Rahim and Ranadipam Basu.

The DB had been carrying out shadow investigations since the attacks were carried out, sources said.

"We are yet to identify the attackers. We are collecting evidence and after scrutinising those, we would be able to provide you the next update," the DC said while talking to reporters at the DMP media centre yesterday.

He said even though they were yet to ascertain who carried out the attacks, the nature of attacks, techniques used and analysis of past attacks on bloggers suggested that Ansarullah Bangla Team might be involved.

The DMP sent a report to the home ministry on Sunday indicating that an extremist group might have been involved in the killing.

Hours after the attacks, militant outfit Ansar al Islam sent emails to media outlets and tweeted claiming responsibility for the attacks.

The detectives claimed that they were investigating the claim.

Asked whether Jamaat activists were carrying out the attacks, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal said, "Our primary investigations indicate that Ansarullah Bangla Team, IS (Islamic State), al-Qaeda, who are claiming responsibility for the attacks, have their origin in Jamaat-e-Islami."

He was briefing reporters at the secretariat about law and order of the country yesterday morning.

The minister reiterated his claim that the law and order was satisfactory and that the attacks on publishers and bloggers were "isolated incidents".

Replying to a query regarding a "hit list of Ansarullah Bangla Team" and the murders of four-five people on that list, Kamal said the law enforcement agencies were doing their best to do their duties.

"We arrested the mastermind of Ansarullah Bangla Team and several others are currently under trial. We will take action if another culprit is rising."

Meanwhile, slain publisher Dipan's father Abul Quasem Fazlul Huq yesterday told The Daily Star that Dipan's wife had filed the case following the suggestion of the police.

"Ajoy Roy has tried a lot after Avijit's death. The Interpol was here … American embassy and the American foreign ministry also tried besides Bangladesh. But there has been no progress," he added.

He claimed that probe into eight more similar incidents made no progress and that there were more such incidents that did not make the news since those happened outside Dhaka.

"The cases were neglected. I don't have anything with which I can exert influence. Besides, it is not a matter of exerting influence."