Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal faced a barrage of questions from the reporters at his office after the murder of the former prison guard on Monday.

Asked if he thinks panic has spread among the people, he said, “I don’t think such killings are happening across the country.

“These are occasional incidents and those who have been involved in militancy for a long time, or some of them, are attempting these.”

He said there was no reason for the situation to worsen.

“Everything is being curbed. No-one is being spared. Everyone has been identified. So I think our country, the people, are very safe now,” he claimed in an attempt to assure the people.

Motorcycle-borne assailants hacked Rajshahi University professor AFM Rezaul Karim Siddiquee to death on Saturday morning.

On Monday, retired prison guard Rustam Ali was shot dead barely 200 yards off the main entrance of Kashimpur Central Jail in Gazipur.

The BNP alleges the ‘government’s failure’ has created an ‘insecure atmosphere’ in Bangladesh.

Middle-East-based Islamic State has reportedly claimed the murder of the Rajshahi University teacher.

The IS and al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) have claimed responsibility for several such recent attacks on bloggers, online activists, publishers and foreigners.

Kamal said, “We have proven every time that these are not IS or something like them, these are our home-grown militants.”

“We always say these elements were initially members of Chhatra Shibir (Jamaat-e-Islami’s student wing). Then militant organisations like the JMB, Harkat-ul-Jihad, then Ansarullah Bangla Team, Ansar Al Islam have been created one after another.

“They are trying to surface. We have controlled them,” he claimed.

Police could not finish investigation into last year’s murders of Avijit Roy, Oyasiqur Rahman Babu, Niladree Chatterjee Niloy, Ananta Bijoy Das and Faysal Arefin Dipan yet.

Any suspect is also yet to be arrested over the murders.

The home minister, however, claimed, “We have identified everyone (the militant organisations) and (they are) under control.”

“We have identified the killers in almost all murder cases and caught them, brought them to justice.”

Kamal said two suspects have been arrested over the murder of Prof Siddiquue.

He urged all to ‘wait a bit’ for the investigation to wrap up.

About the murder of the ex-prisons guard, Kamal said police were yet to find the motive.