Avijit murder: Charges against 6 Ansar-Al-Islam activists accepted

A Dhaka court today accepted charges against six members of banned militant outfit Ansar-Al-Islam in a case filed over the killing of blogger Avijit Roy on February 26, 2015.

After scrutinizing the case dockets and other relevant documents, Judge Mujibur Rahman of the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal accepted the charges.

The six accused are-- Mozammel Hossain alias Saymon, Abu Siddiq Sohel alias Sakib alias Sajid, Arafat Rahman Siam alias Sajjad, Akram Hossain Abir alias Adnan, Shafiur Rahman Farabi and Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque.

The court also issued arrest warrant against sacked major Syed Mohammad Ziaul Haque, a suspected coordinator of banned militant outfit Ansar-Al-Islam.

The next hearing on the case will be held on April 30.

Earlier on March 25, a Dhaka court transferred Avijit Roy murder case to the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal for its quick disposal.

Writer-blogger Avijit, a Bangladesh-born US citizen, was stabbed to death on the Dhaka University campus while he, along with his wife Rafida Ahmed Bonya, was returning from Ekushey book fair on February 26 of 2015. Bonya survived the attack.

Avijit's father Prof Ajay Roy filed the murder case against unidentified assailants with Shahbagh Police Station.

The outfit targeted Avijit for his writings, especially for his two books -- “Obisshahser Dorshon” and “Biswasher Virus”.