Avijit murder suspect killed in shootout
The prime suspect in the murder of progressive blogger Avijit Roy was killed in a reported shootout in the capital early yesterday, less than 24 hours into the killing of Golam Faizullah Fahim, suspected attacker of a Madaripur college lecturer, in a shootout that drew widespread criticism from different quarters. The victim, Shariful alias Sakib, the mastermind in the Avijit Roy murder case, was a top leader of the banned militant group Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), police said adding that he also used other aliases such as Sharif, Saleh, Arif and Hadi-1 to conceal his identity. Bangladesh-born US citizen Avijit was hacked dead near the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) of the University of Dhaka on February 26 last year. Sub-inspector (SI) Shah Alam, duty officer of Khilgaon police station, told The Independent that Shariful was killed in a gunfight between his cohorts and the personnel of the Detective Branch (DB) at Banshpotti Meradiya area. His body was sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy. The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) announced a bounty of Tk. 5 lakh on the heads of six ABT members,
including Shariful, on May 19. Shariful, who hailed from the southern region of Khulna, was a student of English literature at a private university. He had also worked for an NGO. Mashrukur Rahman Khaled, deputy commissioner of DMP, claimed that Shariful was behind each and every murder of progressive bloggers, authors and online activists. He said the militant leader was outside the Suddhaswar office when his ABT cronies attacked publisher Tutul. The DMP official claimed that Shariful had coordinated the deadly attacks on progressive bloggers Wasiqur Rahman Babu and Niladri Chatterjee Niloy.
Shariful also masterminded the murders of publisher Faisal Arefin Depan, online activist Nazimuddin Samad and USAID official and gay rights activist Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Mahbub Rabbi Tanay, Khaled added.
With yesterdays death, 17 people, including six suspected militants, have so far been shot dead in gunfights since the law enforcers launched a nationwide crackdown on militant groups in the wake of a spike in target killings and the June 5 murder of Mahamuda Aktar Mitu, wife of Superintendent of Police Babul Akter.
The crossfire deaths, especially that of Fahim, questioned police efficiency and its goodwill in probing the incidents of target killings, as he was the first person held directly from the spot while trying to hack a Hindu college teacher to death.
Fahim was found handcuffed and without any protective measure although he was in remand over his murder attempt. Such deaths in police custody will definitely hinder the probe against militancy as Fahim could provide the law enforcers with valuable information, claim people personnel concerned. Rights activists also questioned the incidents of deaths in police custody, saying the militants were shot dead in cold blood in encounters staged by officers.
Nearly 50 people have been killed over the last three years in a wave of gruesome murders targeting Hindus, Christians, Sufi Muslims, secular activists and foreigners, with most blamed on or claimed by Islamist militants. Many of the victims were hacked to death. In June alone, an elderly Hindu priest was found nearly decapitated in a rice field and a Hindu monastery worker was hacked to death, while a Christian grocer was found murdered near a church. The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the Hindu priests murder and other recent attacks.
