No headway

Investigators are yet to make any headway in the gruesome killing of Christian convert Hossain Ali in Kurigram although two days have passed.

Police said they picked up five people in the last two days in the areas adjacent to the crime scene at Garialpara in Kurigram town, but refused to disclose their identities for the sake of investigation.

Police were interrogating them in connection with the killing, Tabarak Ullah, superintendent of police in Kurigram, said yesterday.

The police official said they were investigating the killing of the 68-year-old freedom fighter, who converted to Christianity in 1999, keeping a few things in their mind.

“We are not clear [about the reasons behind the killing] yet. It is too early to focus on one particular reason,” the SP told The Daily Star over the phone.

Meanwhile, global terror outfit Islamic State (IS) on Tuesday claimed responsibility for the killing, says US-based SITE Intelligence Group that monitors terrorist activities.

However, The Daily Star could not independently verify the claim.

SP Tabarak claimed there was no presence of IS in Bangladesh and said a vested quarter might have uploaded such post to tarnish the country's image.

Unidentified assailants slit the throat of Hossain, a former inspector of Family Planning Department in Kurigram, while he was returning home at Garialpara from his routine morning walk on Tuesday.

Three men riding a motorcycle intercepted Hossain. Two of them got down from the bike and attacked him with sharp weapons, leaving him dead on the spot, said locals.

Hossain's son Ruhul Amin Azad filed a murder case with Kurigram Sadar Police Station yesterday, accusing some unknown people, according to the SP.

Meanwhile, Kurigram unit of Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad formed a human chain on the Central Shaheed Minar premises yesterday, demanding immediate arrest and exemplary punishment to the killers.

Sirajul Islam Tuku, commander of the unit, said they would announce a tough agitation programme if the law enforcers failed to arrest the culprits within seven days.

Our Kurigram correspondent contributed to this report.