A 28-year-old Bangladeshi law student, Nazimuddin Samad, a masters student of the state-run Jagannath University’s law department, was killed by suspected Islamist militants in Old Dhaka’s Sutrapur area on Wednesday night. He was critical of radical Islamists and hence, hacked to death in Dhaka by machete-wielding militants.

The latest in a series of attacks on secular bloggers and activists in the Muslim majority country. He was attacked by three assailants, while walking to his home in Gendaria with another youth after completing the classes at the university near Bahadur Shah Park. The assailants, who had been riding a single motorcycle, escaped after the assault shouting, "Allahu Akbar," or "Allah is great."

A police official said, “They initially hacked him and then fired gunshots to confirm his death.”

"This is very sad for us. We are trying whatever we can do to support the family during such difficult time," university proctor Nur Mohammad said. “We have informed his family about the murder and are taking detailed information about him,” he said.

"We urge the Bangladeshi police and other authorities to do everything in their power to investigate and prosecute this vicious attack on free speech and thought, and halt this terrible pattern of murders," said Karin Deutsch Karlekar of PEN America, a group of 4,400 U.S. Writers.Samad's killing "is a cruel illustration of the costs of inaction," she said.

Nazim, hailed from Sylhet and was the information and research secretary of Sylhet district unit of Bangabandhu Jatiya Jubo Parishad. He was an activist of Gonojagoron Moncho’s Sylhet wing. His friends said that Nazim used to campaign for secularism on Facebook and was critical of radical Islamists.

Banned Islamist group in Bangladesh tied to the al-Qaida has claimed the responsibility for the killing of Samad an opponent of radical Islam. Ansar al-Islam, the Bangladesh division of al-Qaida or AQIS, said in a statement that its members carried out the attack in “vengeance.” The statement said that Samad “abused” God, the Prophet Muhammad, and Islam.

“This operation was conducted to teach a lesson to the blasphemers of this land whose poisonous tongues are constantly abusing Allah, the religion of Islam and the Messenger under the pretext of so-called freedom of speech,” the statement said.

By Premji