Publisher killed, 3 bloggers hurt
Slain Avijit�s publishers, bloggers attacked at Shahbagh, Lalmatia; �Ansar Al Islam claims responsibility�
Staff Correspondent
A progressive publisher was killed, and another publisher and two bloggers were hacked and shot by unidentified criminals in Shahbagh and Lalmatia areas of the capital yesterday. Faisal Arefin Dipan, 45, owner of Jagriti Prokashani, was stabbed dead in his office at Aziz Cooperative Market at Shahbagh while Shuddha Swar Prokashani publisher Ahmedur Rashid Tutul and writer-blogger Sudeep Kumar Roy Barman, who writes under the name of Ranadipam Basu, and Tareq Rahim were injured at Tutuls office at Lalmatia. Dipan was the sixth progressive activist to have been killed in the country since 2013.
Both the publishers -- Dipan and Tutul -- had brought out books of writer and blogger Avijit Roy, who was hacked to death in February on the Dhaka University campus.
Dipan, a school friend of Avijit Roy, was stabbed to death yesterday afternoon and his body was recovered by police at around 6:15pm from his office on the 2nd floor of the market, said Deputy Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) (media and publications) Muntasirul Islam Rony.
Dipan was found lying in a pool of blood and was first taken to Square Hospital and later to Dhaka Medical College Hospital where doctors declared him dead, a police official confirmed. Ansar Al Islam, the self-styled Bangladeshi branch of militant group al-Qaeda in the Indian Sub-Continent (AQIS), has claimed credit for the killing of the publisher and attacking another. A Twitter account, purportedly handled by the militant group Ansar Al Islam, made the claim hours after the attacks on Saturday night.
We, al-Qaeda in the Indian Sub-Continent, claim responsibility for this operation, a message posted on the account read. When contacted over the matter, police DC Muntasirul Islam said, We have learned about the claim of responsibility by the group. We are trying to verify the claim made by the militant outfit. The slain publishers family told reporters that they tried to contact Dipan yesterday afternoon after getting news on TV that the publisher of Shuddha Swar was attacked at his office in Lalmatia. But they failed to reach Dipan on his mobile phone. Family members then went to his office and found his body in a pool of blood. He was found alone in the room, said family members. Dipan is the son of Professor Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque of Bangla Department of Dhaka University and his wife Razia Rahman is a senior medical officer of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).
A member of the Aziz Cooperative Market Owners Association told journalists that footages captured by 8 CCTV cameras in the market have been preserved and this will be handed over to police to identify the killers of Jagriti Prokashani owner Dipan.
Sources at the Aziz cooperative market said eight CC TV cameras are installed at different strategic points on the ground floor of the building. If anyone entered the market through ground floor, he or she will be definitely under cover of the CCTV cameras, said Iftekhar Hossain, vice president of the markets welfare association. He, however, said if the miscreants entered the market using first floor of nearby medicine market, it will very tough to identify the criminals scrutinizing CCTV footages. Iftekhar said the video footages will be preserved to help the investigators unearth the mystery behind the killing. Lawmen, including the CID of police, collected evidence from the spot yesterday evening.
Earlier, unidentified miscreants attacked and injured Shuddha Swar Prokashani publisher Tutul and writers Ranadipam and Tareq at Tutuls Lalmatia office around 2:30pm. Shuddha Swar Prokashani had published a number of books by slain blogger Avijit Roy including, Shunya Theke Mahabishwa, and the publisher reportedly received death threats after Roys murder. Tutul told reporters at DMCH that they were working inside the office while two other colleagues were seated close to the door, following security concerns over the recent threats he had received. The three attackers, armed with sharp weapons, suddenly stormed into the office, he said. They took our colleagues hostage and stormed into the office.
Another eyewitness, who refused to be named fearing attacks, told The Independent that a gang of three miscreants entered the publishers office around 2:30pm under the pretext of buying books. They then held the staff hostage on gun point and locked them in another room. The miscreants then attacked the three writers using sharp weapons and firearm. Later, the attackers locked the office from outside and fled the scene.
Inspector Jamaluddin Mir, officer-in-charge of Mohammadpur police station, said, On receiving information from the other employees of the publishing house, a police team rushed to the spot and rescued the victims around 3:15pm.
According to the witness, some seven to eight persons, including the victims, were inside the office when the attack took place. Ranadipam Basu posted a Facebook status mentioning the attack a while after it took place.
Some police officials, who took part in the rescue, said they found the flat, where Shuddha Swar is housed, locked from outside when they reached there. After breaking the lock, they entered the flat and found Tareq Rahim lying on the floor. Two others, both bloodied, were sitting on two different chairs.
Inspector Mozammel Haque, in-charge of DMCH police camp, said the injured bloggers were taken to the hospital around 3:50pm. Among them, Tutul and Tareq were immediately taken to the operation theatre. Additional Commissioner (crime and operations) of the DMP, Sheikh Maruf Hasan, told reporters that Tareqs condition was critical. He said the attackers had hacked Rahim in his head, neck and hand. He was also shot in his waist. Rashid had sustained injuries in his head and hand, while Ranadipam Basu had been injured in many parts of his body. The DMP additional commissioner also said that primarily they think the attacks in Shahbagh and Lalmatia are connected incidents and these were carried out in a pre-planned manner by the same group. The doctor on duty at ward no. 103, where the three victims were being treated, said Tareq was transferred to the ICU for better treatment as his condition deteriorated. He also disclosed that Tutuls CT scan report showed he was out of danger.
Members of the police, Detective Branch, Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) have launched investigations into the incidents. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has ordered proper treatment of the publishers and bloggers who were injured in yesterday attack. Prime Ministers Special Assistant Mahbubul Hoque Shakil told this to reporters at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital yesterday evening when he went to visit the injured.
