Ganajagaran Mancha has alleged the home minister and the police chief are effectively condoning murders of bloggers by warning of action against hurting religious sentiments in writings.Mancha spokesman Imran H Sarker made the allegation at a demonstration at Shahbagh on Tuesday. He demanded of the government to arrest the murderers of the bloggers, including Niladri Chatterjee Niloy. Niloy was hacked to death at his home in Dhaka on Aug 7. Secular bloggers Avijit Roy, Oyasiqur Rahman Babu and Ananta Bijoy Das were killed in the same way in past six months. Police are blaming militants for the murders, but could not arrest anyone, except for two held by locals after the murder of Babu. As the law enforcers drew intense criticism for the failure after the murder of Niloy, Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque advised the freethinkers not to ‘cross the limit’. On Tuesday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal warned of legal action against anyone hurting religious sentiments in blogs or any form of writing.”The police chief’s remarks are very obnoxious. The home minister has echoed him,” Sarker said in his address to the Shahbagh protest. “Their remarks indirectly patronise and support the murderers,” he said. “The murderers are trying to save themselves by using religion as a shield. And the state is stepping into their traps in many ways,” Sarker added. Sarker asked the IGP, “You have spoken about crossing the limit. This limit is for whom and where?” “But where is the limit for those committing crimes?” “I want to know from the government – how much money needs to be looted to cross the limit? How many children need to be murdered?” “When someone is murdered or a woman’s cloth is pulled, you term these ‘sporadic incidents’. Whose side are you on?” Sarker asked. He urged the government to actively pursue the killers. “We’ll have to pay the ultimate price if these murderers are not found immediately. We’ll move towards the age of darkness,” he said.The Mancha spokesperson said the murderers were trying to create panic among people by killing the freethinkers. “Those killing in the name of religion cannot belong to any religion,” he said. After the rally, the Shahbagh activists marched on the Dhaka University campus. The parade ended at Shahbagh via the Central Shaheed Minar. Ganajagaran Mancha activists in Chittagong also demonstrated demanding arrest of the murderers of the bloggers.Two of the slain bloggers – Niloy and Das – were involved with the Mancha, which came into being demanding highest punishment for war criminals. Mancha’s Chittagong chapter Member Secretary Chandan Das told a rally at Cheragi Hill intersection that a ‘culture of impunity’ would be created if no murderer was arrested.”It will impact the freedom of expression,” he said.The speakers at the rally urged all to raise voice against the killings perpetrated in the name of religion.
