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  DHAKA, Dec 21, 2021 (BSS) - Dhaka today 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 here.

  "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 today. 

  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.