Dhaka welcomes US rewards for info on fugitive convicts

Dhaka Tuesday welcomed the $5 million reward declared by the US Department of State's Diplomatic Security Service for information on the attack that left US citizen Avijit Roy dead and his wife, Rafida Bonya Ahmed, seriously injured.

"It (reward) is most welcomed ... it will be helpful for us to grab those fugitive convicts," foreign minister Dr AK Abdul Momen told reporters after attending a seminar at a city hotel here Tuesday. 

He said the USA achieved successes in capturing fugitive convicts in many countries by offering rewards. "We also declared rewards for information on the fugitive convicted killers of Bangabandhu," he added. 

The foreign minister said there are absconding convicts in every country including the USA. "They are doing their job ... we are doing ours," he added. In an apparent reference to recent US sanction on RAB officials, he was asked whether the US wants to create pressure on Bangladesh government from different fronts. 

Evading the question, the foreign minister replied that a quarter of Bangladeshi expatriates, residing in the USA, are continuously providing false information and records to the US lawmakers. "We have to work on it," he added.

On February 26, 2015, Avijit and Bonya, both Bangladesh-born US citizens, were visiting Dhaka to attend Ekushay book fair when they were attacked by assailants with machetes. Avijit was killed and Bonya survived with critical injuries. 

A total of six individuals were charged, tried, and convicted while two of them Syed Ziaul Haque (aka Major Zia) and Akram Hussain were tried in absentia and remain at large.