Merciless Slaying of Secular Blogger’s Continues in Bangladesh

Niloy Neel, a Bangladeshi secular blogger, is the 4th Blogger victim this year who has been subjected to merciless hacking (in front of his wife at his residence) resulting in his untimely death by religious extremists in Dhaka Bangladesh.

Niloy Chatterjee Neel was killed in his rented flat, located at East Gorhan, he was residing on the top floor of a four-storey building.

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Ansar Al Islam, also known as al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS), claimed responsibility for the murder in an email to the media in the evening. Niloy’s wife Ashamoni said one of the assistants, aged around 22, wearing a T-shirt and jeans first entered the flat saying that he would rent it and that the house-owner had asked him to see the condition. She found it suspicious since the stranger was trying something with his mobile phone. At this, she asked Niloy to ask the person to leave the flat. Niloy then told the stranger to talk to the landlord. But three others entered the flat all of a sudden and one of them forcefully held Ashamoni and her sister in the veranda on gunpoint. Ashamoni said: “Then a bearded man aged around 30-35 began chopping Niloy indiscriminately in the bedroom chanting ‘Naraye Takbir, Allahu Akbar.’ Two of his accomplices also hacked Niloy at that time. The killers left the scene chanting the same within five minutes. “I screamed from the veranda for help, but no one came forward to stop the killers.” While leaving the building, the killers washed their machetes with a piece of cloth on the ground floor, and then put those in the two bags they were carrying, a neighbour told the Dhaka Tribune. Morgue sources said that Niloy died on the spot and that there were at least 20 marks of injuries on the body. Ashamoni was enraged seeing many people at the flat after the killing. She demanded arrest of the killers. “When will the government take strict measures to try the blogger killers?” House-owner Shamsul Haque said that he had not known Niloy’s real name. “Niloy rented the flat identifying himself as Niloy Chowdhury. He said he was a Muslim.”

Local Police stated that five unknown assailants, armed with machetes and disguised as new renters, entered the flat in two groups after the Jumah prayers ( around 1:45pm on Friday) and killed Niloy.

The blogger had recently received numerous threats for his writings and stance against religious radicalism. Niloy had recently removed all his photos from Facebook and used Kolkata as his current city. It has been reported that Niloy did seek local police protection and went to a police station to file a complaint, but the local police authorities advised him not to do so and also told him to “leave Bangladesh” as soon as humanly possible.

Niloy’s user ID on the social networking site Facebook is “Niloy Neel”. He also blogged against communal ism and fundamentalism under the title named ‘Istishon’ (Station).

epa04875805 Police and others carry the body of a Ganajagaran Mancha activist and blogger Niloy Chakrabarty Neel to downstairs after he has been hacked to death by unknown assailants inside his house at Goran in Dhaka, Bangladesh 07 August 2015. According to the Offier in Charge Mustafizur Rahman, five assailants armed with machetes entered the flat in two groups after the Friday prayers and killed Niloy in his flat on the top floor of a four-storey building around 1:45pm local time. EPA/ABIR ABDULLAH
Police and others carry the body of a Ganajagaran Mancha activist and blogger Niloy Chakrabarty Neel to downstairs after he has been hacked to death by unknown assailants inside his house at Goran in Dhaka, Bangladesh 07 August 2015. According to the Offier in Charge Mustafizur Rahman, five assailants armed with machetes entered the flat in two groups after the Friday prayers and killed Niloy in his flat on the top floor of a four-storey building around 1:45pm local time.

The fourth blogger to have been brutally murdered in Bangladesh this year, had been living in his Gorhan flat with his family for the past two years. He was also am avid NGO (charity organisation) worker.

According to the police statement the attackers entered his home disguised as new tenants who wanted to rent a flat in the same building.

“They fled right after slaughtering Niloy.”

Chatterjee, 40, was a critic of religious extremism that led to bombings in mosques and the killing of numerous civilians.
Chatterjee, 40, was a critic of religious extremism that led to bombings in mosques and the killing of numerous civilians.

DMP’s Detective Branch Joint Commissioner Krishnapada Roy told reporters at the crime scene, “There were signs of haphazard hacking on Niloy’s throat and neck.”

“The nature of the attack is very similar to those on other bloggers murdered earlier,” he stated.

Author: ecloudy

I live in the United States, meditate, do Zen and help people find meaning to present day religious conflicts. Read my opinions (on religion) to find out how I changed my thoughts on life, religion and God - sharing my knowledge and life experiences with you, now doing so living in a country which destiny chose for me.

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