Communist party chief says, US hand behind killed Avijit Roy

Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) President Mujahidul Islam Selim has alleged the United States had a hand in the murder of writer-blogger Avijit Roy.

He made the allegation at a discussion in capital Dhaka on the occasion of 67th founding anniversary of the party on Friday.

Selim said, “If the US is against the Avijit murder, they don’t need to send FBI team. This sort of killings will stop if they give up patronising Jamaat (-e-Islami) and (Chhatra) Shibir.”

“They (US) have instigated the Jamaat and Shibir to murder Avijit and are now sending teams to investigate it,” he said.

The CPB chief claimed the government was unwilling to ban the Jamaat.

“They (government) can enact impeachment law in seven days but whenever a ban on Jamaat is demanded, they cite loopholes in the law,” he said.

Mukto-mona blog founder Avijit and his wife Rafida Ahmed Bonya, both US citizens, were hacked while returning from Ekushey Book Fair on the night of Feb 26.

The writer died at hospital hours later.

Bonya has been taken to the US for treatment.

A four-member FBI team has arrived in Dhaka to help the investigators.

The team visited the place where Avijit was attacked and its surrounding areas like Bangla Academy and Suhrawardy Udyan, and collected pictures and information.

Selim said, “FBI has a permanent office in Dhaka. They didn’t need to bring teams from outside. Actually they want to bite (Bangladesh) harder.”

He acknowledged the mistakes his party had made.

“JaSaD would have not been created if we could pursue politics coming out of the Awami League after independence. The reactionaries could not have been emerged under the shelter of JaSaD,” he said.

Selim said independence architect Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman could not be saved and the spread of communalism could not be stopped because of the rise of anti-independence forces.

Criticising the ruling Awami League and the BNP, he said: “The BNP has been a party of plunderers since its formation. Schoolteachers, workers and lawyers used to lead the Awami League once.

“But now the Awami League, too, has turned into a party of plunderers. Now the party lacks that leadership.”