Blogger Avijit murder: Arafat on 5-day remand

Staff Correspondent: A court in Dhaka has granted a five-day remand to 24-year-old Md Arafat Rahman who was arrested in connection with a case filed over the killing of blogger and writer Avijit Roy.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate AKM Moinuddin Siddique passed the order on Saturday after Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit Chief Monirul Islam, also the investigation officer of the case, had sought a 10-day remand for him.

Earlier on Friday night, CTTC unit members with the help of Dhaka District Police's Detective Branch (North) in a drive arrested Arafat Rahman, operation wing member of banned militant outfit Ansar Al Islam, from Borodeshi area in Aminbazar of Savar in connection with the case filed over the killing of blogger and writer Avijit Roy.

The organising name of Arafat Rahman is Siam alias Sazzad. He has confessed to taking part in the killings of USAID official Xulhaz Mannan and his friend Mahbub Tonoy, blogger Niladri Chottapadhyay Niloy and Faisal Arefin Dipon during the interrogation, the police said.

Arafat Rahman said that he had taken part in the Avijit murder following the instruction of sacked and absconding army Major Syed Ziaul Haque, alleged military wing chief of the banned militant outfit, the police added.

Avijit, son of noted physicist Ajoy Roy and founder of Mukto-Mona blog, was hacked to death, and his wife Rafida Afrin Banya was injured as unidentified killers attacked them with meat cleavers near TSC on the Dhaka University Campus on February 26 in 2015.

risingbd/Dhaka/Nov 25, 2017/Mamun Khan/AI