Kolkata: Dhaka paid its last respects today to Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy whose brutal murder earlier this week on a busy street in the city shocked the world.
On Thursday night, Mr Roy and his wife were dragged off a cycle rickshaw at a Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) intersection by two unidentified assailants and attacked with machetes. Mr Roy died of a fatal gash to the head.
The body will later be donated to Dhaka Medical College for research.
Ajay Roy, a professor of physics at Dhaka University, told that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), had contacted him and offered help with investigations. “I have been told not to share details,” he said.
Avijit Roy was a US resident and had come to Dhaka for a visit about 15 days ago.
Mr Roy who is the founder of Mukto-Mona (Free-mind) blog site which champions liberal secular writing in the Muslim majority nation.
According to the Dhaka Police, Islamist jihadist group Ansar Bangla 7 has claimed responsibility for the attack on Mr Roy and his wife. The group sent out several tweets after the blogger’s death, one of which said, “Target is down. Wait for the next.”