Staff Reporter :
Detectives have started extensive surveillance of three persons, suspecting their involvement in the murder of Niladri Chatterjee alias Niloy, who was killed on Friday in his Goran flat allegedly by assailants.
The suspects have been identified based on statements of the wife of the slain writer, neighbours and locals, and also by analysing the post-mortem and the inquest reports, said a high official of police involved with the investigation process.
To confirm their identities, the detectives have sent a blood-stained towel and a red T-shirt collected from the ground floor of the building to the forensic department of Dhaka Medical College and Hospital for DNA test, the DB official said.
They also collected Niloy’s teeth from the flat and sent those for examination.
He said that the eight major stab injuries, found on Niloy’s body, were made by a left-handed killer.
The detectives have also found that the e-mail claiming responsibilities for the murder was sent to different media outlets from a laptop based in Hathazari area of Chittagong.
A group named Ansar Al Bangla sent the e-mail and it was signed by its spokesman Mufti Abdullah Ashraf. But the high officials of the Detective Branch of police have said that it was a fake name.
Another senior police official said that they were checking mobile network data of the area to track the killer who used mobile phone inside the flat to ask his three other accomplices to enter the flat.
“We are also checking the phone call records of Niloy, his wife and some of his friends,” the official added.
Earlier on Sunday, a Dhaka court on Sunday ordered the Forensic Department of Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH) to conduct the DNA test of a tooth, and bloodstained shirt and napkin of slain blogger Niladri Chatterjee.
Metropolitan Magistrate M Emdadul Haque passed the order upon a petition filed by Anwar Hossain Khan, Officer-in-Charge (Investigation) of Khilgaon Police Station and also the investigation officer of the case.
Meanwhile, the case had been transferred to the Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police from Khligaon Police Station on Sunday night, said Anwar Hossain Khan, the Investigation Officer of the case.
When contacted, Deputy Commissioner (Media) of DMP Muntashirul Islam confirmed it, saying they are yet to receive the case documents till filing of this report around 11:00pm.
