Joynal Abedin Khan :Police have arrested four suspects over the murder of Italian aid worker Tavella Cesare, and seized the motorbike that was used during the killing, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia. He claimed to have unearthed the mystery behind the murder, saying that the alleged criminals have confessed to being hired to attack “a white man” in order to destabilize the country.”Not Tavella, they were contacted to kill any foreign national, especially a white-skinned man,” the DMP chief told a press briefing at the Headquarters of Detective Branch (DB) of police in city’s Mintoo Road on Monday morning.He said, “We have arrested the real criminals and collected some vital evidence and information of their crimes. The contacted killers were asked by a Boro Bhai (Big Brother) to kill a foreigner at any cost to put the government under pressure.”The arrestees are: Tamzid Ahmed Rubel alias Mobile Rubel alias Shooter Rubel, Sakhawat Hossain alias Sharif, Russell Chowdhury alias Chakki Russell alias Biddut Russell, and Minhazul Arefin Russell alias Bhagina Russell alias Kala Russell.The DMP commissioner said, “The big brother ordered them to conduct the killing and we have got information about that person.”The Big brother is also a political leader and once he was detained by police. So we will be able to arrest the persons behind the killing,” he said, adding that they were trying hard to recover the firearms used in the crime.Replying to questions, he said police have not found any link to militancy and Islamic State (IS) in the murder.” The Islamic State issue brought up to hide the real criminals, he claimed.Meanwhile, a Dhaka court on Monday placed three persons, who were reportedly involved in the killing of Cesare Tavella, on an eight-day remand each.They are Minhajul Abedin Russel alias Vagne Rusel, Russel Chowdhury alais Chakti Russel and Shakhawat Hossain alias Sharif. Metropolitan Magistrate Mohammad Mahbubur Rahman passed the order after the Investigation Officer (IO) of the case produced the three suspected killers before his court with a 10-day remand plea for each.Earlier in the day, a team of DB police conducted drives in Gulshan and Badda areas in the capital and arrested the suspects.Of them, Chakki Russell, son of Shahjahan Chowdhury, was arrested in Gulshan, Vagne Russell in Shatarkul area and Mobile Rubel from a secret hideout in Badda, the police commissioner said.Sharif, the owner of the seized the motorbike used in the killing, is also a dealer of illegal firearms.General Record Office (GRO) Sub-Inspector Farid Uddin said: “Another suspect Tamjid Ahmed Rubel alais Shooter Rubel was not put on remand as he is giving confessional statement under Section 164 before the court of Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Mahmud Adnan.”Based on information given by Vagne Russell, a DB team seized the white motorbike, FZS, from house in Middle Badda, he said.Bhagina Russell and Chakki Russell are convicted criminals and drug addicts, the police official said adding that they had record showing Rubel as a “cold-blooded killer”. On September 28, Tavella, 51, was gunned down on road 90 in Gulshan 2 area in the capital and he was declared dead at United Hospital in the following day. He was a project director at the Netherlands-based development organisation ICCO Cooperation.
