Dhaka: A Jagannath University (JnU) student was hacked to death by miscreants in the city’s Sutrapur area on Wednesday night.

The deceased is Nizam Uddin, a third year law student of the university.

Quoting Dhaka Metropolitan Police Syed Nurul Islam deputy commissioner AFP reports at least four assailants hacked Nazimuddin Samad’s head with a machete at about 9:45am. As he fell down, one of them shot him with a pistol from close range.

Islam said: ‘It is a case of targeted killing. But no group has claimed responsibility.’

The police said the 28-year-old was killed as he posted against Islam on his Facebook page. Law enforcers were investigating whether Samad was murdered for his writing.

Samad had only recently arrived in Dhaka from the northeastern city of Sylhet to study law.

Deputy Commissioner Islam said police suspect the attackers had been monitoring the victim since before he arrived in Dhaka.

Nazimuddin was reported to have been an organiser of the Ganajagran Manch, a secular campaigning group.

Imran Sarker, who leads one of the Bangladesh’s largest online activist group, said Samad had joined nationwide protests in 2013 against top Islamist leaders accused of committing war crimes during the country’s war of independence.

‘He was a secular online activist and a loud voice against any social injustice. He was against Islamic fundamentalism,’ said Sarker, head of the Bangladesh Bloggers Association.

Samad had written against radical Islam in a number of recent Facebook postings.