A secular student activist was hacked to death by militants in Old Dhaka last night. 28-year old Nazimuddin Samad was attacked by 3 unidentified youth on motorcycle while he was returning home after his evening classes.
Police said the attackers hacked him with machetes and then shot him in the head to confirm his death. Another youth who was accompanying him has been traceless since the incident. Sources said Samad was an active campaigner for secularism on Facebook and was critical of radical Islamist elements.
Police are investigating the case. Secular bloggers and on-line activists have been under attack in Bangladesh. Four bloggers and a publisher were hacked to death with sharp weapons by radical Islamists in the country last year. They include US citizen of Bangladeshi origin Avijit Roy who was killed in February last year. The FBI has been assisting Bangladesh police to nab the culprits.