2 Oyasiqur murder suspects on fresh remand

A Dhaka court this afternoon placed two suspects arrested over the brutal murder of blogger Oyasiqur Rahman Babu on a fresh three-day remand.

Metropolitan Magistrate Md Ataul Hauque passed the order around 3:00pm after Investigating Officer of the case Mashiur Rahman, inspector of the Detective Branch (DB) of police, produced the duo before the court with a five-day remand prayer.

On March 31, the two suspected murderers -- Zikurullah and Ariful Islam – were placed on an eight-day remand for interrogation over the murder.

Oyasiqur, 27, was attacked by three cleaver-wielding youths in the capital's Tejgaon Industrial area on March 30.

Zikurullah and Ariful were caught by the public from the scene and handed over to police. Both madrasa students, they confessed to the killing during primary interrogation.

The motive behind the murder appears to be “ideological differences”, police said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police on the same day claimed that one of the two youths, caught after the murder of Oyasiqur, was a JMB activist who was arrested with a huge cache of explosives in Narsingdi a few years ago.

A staunch critic of religious fundamentalism, Oyasiqur was active mostly on Facebook though he used to write in Bangla blogosphere.

Immediately after his killing, social media was abuzz with condemnation.

Oyasiqur, son of Tipu Sultan of Ramganj in Laxmipur, worked at a travel agency in Motijheel.