Joynal Abedin Khan :
The body of Italian citizen Cesare Tavella, who had been killed by unidentified assailants in the city’s Gulshan area, was handed to the Italian Embassy in Dhaka on Wednesday morning.
Inspector of Detective Branch (DB) Jihad Hossian received the body on behalf of the embassy around 10:00am at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH) in presence of two embassy staff, said Shibli Noman, Assistant Commissioner (Ramna Division) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP).
The two staff were Consular Attachés Geo Vany Chianny and Danil Paolo Notaro, the police official said.
On the other hand, investigators are still in the dark about the motives behind the killing of two foreign nationals despite their ‘all-out efforts’ to discover the mysteries, Police Headquarters sources said.
Detectives could not yet unearth the connection of any individual or group of individuals with two murders, they said.
Even investigation officials do not want to make any comment about the ongoing inquires. Some officials, who are working with the probe team, admitted that they could not as yet collect any strong evidence or symptom that might help them trace the killers.
The DB’s cyber crime cell investigating the murders claimed on Tuesday that the tweets claiming responsibility for the murders were tweeted from Dhaka and Rangpur.
They said that they had put at least four persons, including the man who might have tweeted the IS clink after the Tavella murder, under surveillance.
On the other hand, Home Ministry and law enforcing agencies, including police, have repeatedly said that they had no evidence about the presence of Islamic State (IS) militia in Bangladesh.
In addition, neither the police, nor the government said that IS was responsible for the murders, intelligence sources said.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal on Wednesday said, investigation into the killing of two foreigners is about to make significant breakthrough in identifying the culprits behind the incidents.
“We are optimists about unearthing the motive and persons behind the murder. We hope to disclose the progress soon. Just wait a bit,” Asaduzzaman Khan told reporters, in the Secretariat in the afternoon.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque in a press briefing at DIG Office (Dhaka Range) in the city’s Segun Bagicha on Wednesday said that they had no evidence of IS connection with the murder or existence of the IS in Bangladesh.
He sought the cooperation of the countrymen, including journalists, to probe the murders. The IGP requested all to supply the information to the law enforcers about the IS, if any in the country.
Detective Branch (DB) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) has been investigating the Italian national’s murder, while Kaunia thana police in Rangpur is looking into the Kunio Hoshi killing.
Italian citizen Cesare Tavella, 51, was shot by three unidentified assailants on September 28 and died on the way to United Hospital in Gulshan. Japanese citizen, Hoshi Kunio, 65, was killed by three unidentified assailants on October 3.
