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Two Islamist militants sentenced to death for killing a US blogger critical of religious extremism escaped from a crowded court in Bangladesh’s Dhaka on Sunday.
Avijit Roy, an engineer of Bangladeshi origin, was hacked to death by machete-wielding assailants in February 2015 while returning home with his wife from a Dhaka book fair. His wife, blogger Rafida Bonya Ahmed, suffered head injuries and lost a thumb in the attack.
Five members of an Islamist militant group were sentenced to death last year, while one was jailed for life.
Two of those on death row escaped on Sunday, after bikers sprayed a chemical on police officers before snatching away the convicts, police said.
“A massive manhunt has been launched to capture them and their helpers,” Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters, adding that border security officials had been put on alert to stop the men fleeing the country.
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