Xulhaz-Tonoy Murder: Key accused remanded for second time

A Dhaka court yesterday placed an active member of banned militant outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team on a three-day fresh remand to gather more information about the murders of Xulhaz Mannan, editor of an LGBT magazine, and his friend Mahbub Rabby Tonoy in 2016. 

Metropolitan Magistrate Md Didar Hussain passed the order after investigating officer of the case Md Monirul Islam, an inspector of Counter Terrorism & Transnational Crime Unit of DMP, produced Asadullah alias Fakrul alias Faisal before the court with a 10-day remand prayer.

Asadullah, 25, was produced before the court on completion of his three-day remand.      

USAID staffer Xulhaz, who used to work as a protocol officer for former US ambassador to Dhaka Dan W Mozena, and his friend Tonoy were hacked to death inside Xulhaz's flat on April 25, 2016.

A CTTC team picked up Asadullah from a house in Gazipur's Tongi area around 6:15pm on January 15.

The arrestee is one of the 13 ABT men involved in the double murder, orchestrated by ABT Operation Commander Syed Ziaul Haq, police sources said. Ziaul is on the run.

Apart from Asadullah, three other ABT men have been arrested in this connection so far. The trio -- Saimun alias Shahrier, Arafat Siam, and Sheikh Abdullah Jayed -- have given confessional statements before magistrates on different dates, court sources said.