Inspector General of Police (IGP) AKM Shahidul Hoque on Sunday said there is nothing for the foreign nationals to be worried about their security as Bangladesh is a safe land.
“We’ve taken all-out measures to ensure the security of foreign nationals,” he said.
The IGP was talking to reporters after the inaugural ceremony of a basic driving training programme arranged for ‘Bedey (snake charmers) community’ at Brac Centre Inn in the city.
About travel alerts issued by some foreign countries, Shahidul Hoque said, “If the envoys of various countries or heads of government issue such alerts for their respective citizens, we have nothing to say.” As his attention was drawn to the reported remarks of ‘Search for International Terrorist Entities’ (SITE) Institute that IS claimed responsibility for the two foreigners’ killings, he said SITE is a private website. “We don’t know from which source they got the information.”
Asked about the progress of the investigations into the murders of the two foreigners, he said the incidents are still under investigation. “We can’t say anything until the investigations are finished…I’m hopeful we’ll be able to unearth the mysteries behind the killings.”
Sought comments whether there is any conspiracy behind the foreigners’ killings, the police chief said, “If we can debunk the mysteries behind one of the two cases, then we’ll be able to say exactly. Until then, we’ll have to wait,” the IGP added.
Cesare Tavella, an Italian national, was gunned down in Dhaka city’s Gulshan area on September 28 while Japanese citizen Kunio Hoshi in Rangpur on October 3. Dhaka District Police and Brac jointly organised the programme aiming to involve the members of the impoverished ‘Bedey Community’ to provide them with an alternative livelihood option.
Chaired by Brac executive director Dr Musa, the programme was attended, among others, by director general of NGO Affairs Bureau Md Nurun Nabi Talukder, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Dhaka Range) SM Mahfuzul Haq Nuruzzaman, founder of Nirapad Sarak Chai film star Ilias Kanchan and Dhaka SP Habibur Rahman. Initially, 35 male members of the Bedey Community in Savar were selected for the basic driving training course to be conducted in three phases.
