Washington: The US has offered a reward of US$ 5 million to anyone providing information about the terrorist attack on Bangladeshi-American blogger Avijit Roy in Bangladesh. In this attack in 2015, American citizen Avijit Roy was killed and his wife Rada Bonya Ahmed was seriously injured. On February 26, 2015, he was attacked by Islamic extremists just after leaving a book fair at Dhaka University. Avijit Roy was a vocal critic of religious fundamentalism.
The US State Department said in a statement that the US State Department’s Diplomatic Security Service is offering this reward through Rewards for Justice (RFJ). It said Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been authorized with regard to reward for information on the terrorist attacks. It said that this reward will be given on information related to the arrest or conviction in any country involved in the murder of Roy and the attack on his wife.
Need information that is helpful to agencies
We are still seeking such information regarding this matter which will help the law enforcement agencies. In this terrorist attack, preparations are being made to bring the criminals to justice. However, a total of six persons were accused in this case and they were also tried in Bangladesh. The Ansarullah Bangla Team, an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist group based in Bangladesh, claimed responsibility. Asim Omar, the (now defunct) leader of al-Qaeda, posted a widely circulated video claiming that AQIS followers were responsible for the attacks on Roy and Ahmed. The State Department has designated AQIS as a Foreign Terrorist Organization.
America gave immediate reaction to the murder
State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki had said that the United States strongly condemns the brutal murder of Avijit Roy. In the statement, the US had called the killing an act of cowardice. The statement said that Avijit was a journalist, a humanitarian, a husband, and a friend, and we extend our condolences to his family. In February, a special anti-terrorism tribunal in Bangladesh sentenced members of the banned Islamist terrorist group, including a fugitive army chief, to death and sentenced the sixth person to life imprisonment for killing Roy in 2015.
