The owner of Jagriti Prokashony Faisal Arefin Dipan was stabbed dead at Shahbagh in the capital hours after assailants knifed another publisher of books written by slain blogger Avijit Roy along with two bloggers at Lalmatia.

In the both the attacks – which are similar in nature, the perpetrators locked the victims inside their offices before leaving the scene.

Both the publishers published books of blogger and US citizen Avijit Roy who was killed in attack on February 26 near Teachers and Students Centre of Dhaka University.

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"Dipan died of stab wounds found in the shoulder," Muntasirul Islam, spokesperson of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told The Daily Star.

Abul Kashem Fazlul Haque, father of Dipan, told journalists after the murder that those who have targeted those promoting free speech might be behind the attack.

Though the news of attempt on Ahmedur Rashid Tutul, publisher of Shuddhwashawr, at his office at Block C in Lalmatia around 2:30pm spread fast, close ones came to know about the attack on Dipan at his office at Aziz Supermarket late.

"He [Dipan] was working in our office on the second floor of this building," said Alauddin, manager of the Jagriti Prokashony who was working in the other office on the first floor of the same building, told The Daily Star.

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As Alauddin failed to reach Dipan over his mobile phone around 3:30pm, he went up to the second floor. Finding the door locked, he knocked on the door but no-one responded.

"As we didn't get any response despite several attempts, we managed a key and opened the door to find him lying on the floor, in a pool of blood," he said.

On information, police rushed to Aziz Market and took seriously injured Dipan to Dhaka Medical College Hospital, said DMP spokesperson Islam. "Doctors declared him dead there."