Two Islamist militants sentenced to demise for killing a US blogger important of non secular extremism escaped from a crowded court docket in Bangladesh’s Dhaka on Sunday.
Avijit Roy, an engineer of Bangladeshi origin, was hacked to demise by machete-wielding assailants in February 2015 whereas returning residence together with his spouse from a Dhaka guide honest. His spouse, blogger Rafida Bonya Ahmed, suffered head accidents and misplaced a thumb within the assault.
Five members of an Islamist militant group had been sentenced to demise final yr, whereas one was jailed for all times.
Two of these on demise row escaped on Sunday, after bikers sprayed a chemical on law enforcement officials earlier than snatching away the convicts, police stated.
“A massive manhunt has been launched to capture them and their helpers,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan instructed reporters, including that border safety officers had been placed on alert to cease the boys fleeing the nation.
Police have additionally introduced an award of two million taka (about $19,350) for tracing the convicts.
The convicted males belong to the al Qaeda-inspired home militant group Ansar Ullah Bangla Team and police say the group was behind the murders of greater than a dozen secular activists and bloggers.
Muslim-majority Bangladesh noticed a string of lethal assaults between 2013 and 2016 focusing on bloggers, secular activists and spiritual minorities, claimed by ISIS or al Qaeda-aligned teams.