Bangladeshis eulogise fallen atheist blogger, urge probe

HUNDREDS of Bangladeshis demanded justice on Sunday for the killers of an atheist blogger hacked to death with machetes, as they gathered to pay tribute to the critic of religious extremism.

Avijit Roy, an US citizen of Bangladeshi origin, was killed by unknown attackers on Thursday night. He had received numerous death threats from Islamist militant groups.

More than 1,000 mourners gathered to pay respects and lay wreaths on Roy’s coffin which has been placed inside Dhaka University, a bastion of secularism and free speech in the Muslim-majority nation.

“It’s a heinous murder. My question is, why did it take place?” Kamal Hossain, the architect of Bangladesh’s secular constitution, told reporters as Roy’s father stood by. 

“Avijit was killed because of his writing. By killing him, the killers have torn apart our constitution,” he said.