Khairul on 5-day remand over blogger Niloy killing

Staff Correspondent: A Dhaka court has granted five-day remand for Khairul Islam, a leader of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team (ABT), in a case filed over the murder of secular blogger Niladri Niloy.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Delwar Hossain passed the order after hearing on the case on Saturday.

Investigation Officer of DB Police Bahauddin Faruki, also the investigation officer of the case, sought ten-day remand for interrogating Khairul while he was placed before the court for hearing.

The court granted him five-day remand for Khairul after hearing on the case.

Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) arrested Khairul from Kamalapur Railway Station area at 9:00pm on Friday.

Abdul Baten, Joint Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), in a press briefing at the media centre on Saturday noon, said, "Khairul identified himself as Fahim, Rifat, Jamil and Jisan in different places. He was the chief of ABT`s Information and Technology Unit."

"In primary interrogation, Khairul confessed to his involvement of killing Faisal Arefin Dipan, owner of Jagriti Prokashani, and secular blogger Niladri Niloy," he claimed.

"Khairul said in interrogation that the directives of killing bloggers and publishers including the militant attacks carried out across the country came from suspended Army official Major Zia," he added.

He also claimed quoting Khairul that Major Zia is currently staying in the country.

On October 31 last year, Dipan was hacked to death at his office at Aziz Super Market in Dhaka’s Shabagh area on broad daylight. ABT had claimed responsibility of the murder.

Blogger Niloy was also hacked to death on August 7 in 2015 at his residence. On that very day, Al Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed the murder.

risingbd/DHAKA/Nov 12, 2016/MA Khan/Amirul