Bangladesh Police chief asks for time to probe killing of foreigners

Police are investigating several recent murders, including the killing of two foreigners, with ‘much importance’ but they need more time to solve the crimes, Inspector General of Police AKM Shahidul Hoque has said.

“One or two incidents do not mean the law and order has deteriorated,” he said at a programme in Chandpur on Thursday. “We are looking into them with all seriousness.”

After the shooting of Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella on Sept 28 in Dhaka, Japanese Kunio Hoshio was killed in Rangpur on Oct 3.

On Monday, assailants barged into the house of former PDB chairman Muhammad Khizir Khan and slaughtered him.

Police are yet to make headway in their investigation.

IGP Hoque said they had tasked ‘skilled officers’ with the investigations. 

“We’ll reveal the findings before the nation,” he said, urging people to keep faith in them. “But we need time.”

The government has refuted reports claiming Islamic State took responsibilities for the foreigners’ killing while the prime minister has pointed finger at the BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.

Hoque stressed that the law and order was under control and that adequate security measures had been taken for foreigners.

Several countries have advised their citizens to curtail their movement in Bangladesh while diplomats requested the government to provide security for their nationals.

“The target killings of foreigners were part of a conspiracy,” the top police officer said, adding, “We’ll find out who are behind this.”