A Dhaka court today placed three militants of banned outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team in seven-day remand in police custody over writer Avijit Roy's killing.

Detective Branch (DB) Inspector Fazlur Rahman produced the three, held yesterday, before the court and sought for 10-day quizzing in custody.

Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Mahmud Adnan granted police a week to remand the militants, inclusive of a Bangladesh-born UK citizen who is said to be the plotter and financier of the murder.

Rapid Action Battalion (Rab) claimed the arrests of these three militants from Dhaka yesterday. They are also said to be involved in the murder of blogger Ananta Bijoy Das in Sylhet.

Writer Avijit Roy was killed in Dhaka University on February 26 while he was leaving the Ekushey Book fair. His wife Rafida Ahmed Banna was also injured in the attack but survived.

Two attackers hit Avijit, 42, with machetes from behind, inflicting fatal injuries to his head. They also hacked his wife when she tried to save him.

Blogger Ananta Bijoy Das who had been in a state of dread since the brutal murder of Bangladesh-born US writer and blogger Avijit was killed in Sylhet on May 12.