Five bloggers slain in two years
Niladri Chakrabarti, who was hacked to death by assailants at his home in the capital yesterday, is the fourth secular blogger to be killed in the country within a span of six months this year, and the fifth one since the brutal killings, blamed on suspected Islamic militant groups, began two years ago. All had been active on social media, criticising extremist religious ideologies or arguing in favour of progressive causes. In February, Avijit Roy, a science writer and a blog site moderator, was fatally stabbed as he left the Ekushey Book Fair on the Dhaka University campus. The killing of the Bangladeshi-born US citizen prompted outrage around the world, with more than 150 writers, including Salman Rushdie and Yann Martel, signing a letter urging the government to ensure that the tragic events are not repeated.
In March, Washiqur Rahman, 27, who had protested Roys murder on his blog, was killed on his way to work in the capitals Tejgaon area. The next victim was Ananta Bijoy Das, who was hacked to death by masked men in May as he headed to work in Sylhet.
The brutal killings began with Ahmed Rajib Haider, who was an organiser of the Shahbag movement against war criminals and religious extremism, was attacked outside his house in the capitals Mirpur area on the night of February 15, 2013. His mutilated body was found lying in a pool of blood the next morning. Niladri Chakrabarti, who blogged under his pen name Niloy Neel and frequently wrote in favour of womens rights, is now the latest blogger to be killed for his progressive views. Police said Chakrabarti was killed by a group of armed attackers, who forced their way into his Goran flat yesterday.
