6 Bangladesh bloggers next on hit list–police

At least six Bangladeshi bloggers could be next on the hit list of militants, police claimed yesterday.

They said they came to know the names of those on the list after interrogating the two suspects — Saad-al-Nahin and Masud Rana — arrested in connection with the brutal murder of blogger Niladri Chattopadhyay Niloy.

They, however, said police were verifying the information.

Talking to journalists at Rajarbagh Police Lines, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said the law enforcers were doing a threat assessment on the bloggers concerned.

He said the suspects, who are members of blamed militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team, told police about a “cell” that could be involved in the Niloy murder on August 7.

Meanwhile, family members of Niloy yesterday expressed frustration over the police’s failure to unearth the mystery behind the killing even though 10 days had gone by.

At least six bloggers could be next on the hit list of militants, police claimed yesterday.

They said they came to know the names of those on the list after interrogating the two suspects — Saad-al-Nahin and Masud Rana — arrested in connection with the brutal murder of blogger Niladri Chattopadhyay Niloy.

They, however, said police were verifying the information.

Talking to journalists at Rajarbagh Police Lines, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam said the law enforcers were doing a threat assessment on the bloggers concerned.

He said the suspects, who are members of blamed militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team, told police about a “cell” that could be involved in the Niloy murder on August 7.

Meanwhile, family members of Niloy yesterday expressed frustration over the police’s failure to unearth the mystery behind the killing even though 10 days had gone by.

Niloy’s uncle Bimol Chattopadhyay told The Daily Star over the phone, “My brother [Niloy’s father] and I have started worrying about the future of the case. I want a proper and speedy investigation into the incident.”

Bimol, who lives in Pirojpur, also feared that the killers and their cohorts might try to change the course of the investigation by threatening Niloy’s wife Asha Moni, a key witness to the incident.

Niloy, 28, was stabbed to death by four cleaver-wielding militant suspects in his bedroom in the capital’s Goran.

His wife Asha Moni and her sister were inside the flat at that time.

Bimol said he virtually raised Niloy since his childhood and also bore educational expenses when he enrolled in Dhaka University.

Six days after Niloy’s death detectives on Thursday arrested Saad-al-Nahin and Masud Rana at the capital’s Uttara and Mirpur.

A Dhaka court placed each of them on eight-day police remand on Friday.

The duo, however, was yet to confess their involvement in the killing but detectives said they could glean vital information on the recent blogger killings from the arrestees.

Contacted, Muntasirul Islam, deputy commissioner (media) of DMP, claimed that they had made significant progress into the investigation.

“Hopefully, we will unveil the mystery [of Niloy’s killing] soon.”

He also urged Niloy’s family to have faith in police.

Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque during an event in Ashulia yesterday said police lacks a system to monitor the social media, like Facebook and Twitter.

He said Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission often fails to provide accurate information on the origin of certain posts made on the social media.

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