Killing of Italian aid worker in Dhaka is an isolated incident, says Home Minister Kamal

The killing of the Italian national in Dhaka is an ‘isolated incident’, says the home minister even as several countries alerted their citizens living in Bangladesh and asked them to limit their movements to avoid security risks.

Staff Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 29 Sept 2015, 10:04 AM
Updated : 29 Sept 2015, 11:18 AM

Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal thinks the gunning down of NGO official Cesare Tavella is not related to the security concerns of the Australian cricket team, which has delayed its departure for Bangladesh for a Test series.
 
The minister at a press briefing on Tuesday said, “This is an isolated incident. But the investigation will look into every angle.”
 
He said, “Statements of the witnesses and police’s primary investigation are leading us to believe that this (murder) was pre-planned.”
 
Tavella, 50, was shot dead on Monday evening at the heart of Dhaka’s diplomatic enclave at Gulshan amid the US, UK and Australia’s security concerns.
 
Later same night, jihadist threat monitoring portal SITE Intelligence Group said the Islamic State had claimed responsibility for the murder.
 
This would be the first attack in Bangladesh by the radical Islamist militant group.
 
Tavella’s killing took place only two days after the Aussies decided to delay its tour after their government warned of possible militant attacks on ‘Australian interests’.
 
Following suit, the UK and the US also claimed to have received information that militants might target their interests in Bangladesh as well and advised their citizens to limit their movements in the country.
 
Tavella came to Bangladesh in May this year and worked as the project manager in the Netherlands-based NGO ICCO Cooperation’s Profitable Opportunities for Food Security (PROOFS) programme.

One of his colleagues, Helen Vender Bik, filed a case over his murder on Tuesday morning, said Gulshan Police Station’s Sub-Inspector Sabbir Rahman.

The home minister said, “Everything regarding his (Tavella’s) life – his workplace, that NGO’s activities, or whether he had personal enmity with anyone – will be looked into.”

Different law-enforcement agencies including four teams of the police’s Detective Branch were investigating the murder, Kamal added.

In reply to a query on the Islamic State claiming responsibility for the killing, he said, “IS has reportedly made that claim. But their site contains no such admission.”

He added that experts were analysing the claim. “We have not yet found any proof about its truthfulness. But we believe we will soon identify the killers.”