In around 13 hours, he changed his statement.
Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal early yesterday told the media that Dhaka city BNP leader and former ward commissioner MA Quayum is the “Boro Bhai” who was behind the September 28 murder of Italian aid worker Cesare Tavella.
But later around 1:30pm, he denied making such comment and claimed some media outlets had misquoted him. This time he said Quayum is “one of the top suspects”.
“A ward commissioner from BNP is on the suspect list. He is certainly one of the top suspects. Not only Quayum, others are also on the list, according to information available to us,” the minister told reporters at the secretariat, emerging from a meeting of the cabinet committee on law and order.
Earlier on Monday, police at a press briefing said they arrested four youths, including three hitmen who took part in the shooting of the Italian man. A “Boro Bhai” (big brother) hired the hitmen to kill any white man living in the country, they added.
During a talk-show on Ekattor TV on Tuesday night, the home minister was asked over the phone who is that “Boro Bhai”. It’s Quayum, he replied.
Again, when The Daily Star phoned the minister at 12:05am and wanted to know whether Quayum is the “Boro Bhai” who police have been talking about, the home boss said, “Yes, but we are yet to make it public for the sake of the investigation.”
He added Quayum’s name has come up as the “Boro Bhai” in the Tavella murder probe. He made the same comment to some other media outlets.
At the secretariat, the minister told journalists that the investigation has reached almost its end. “We will be able to reveal everything.”
On Quayum’s whereabouts, he said the BNP leader had fled the country after the murder.
Quayum, an ex-ward commissioner from Badda, is a joint convener of Dhaka city BNP and considered a close aide to party chief Khaleda Zia. According to his party and family sources, he left the country on April 28, the day elections to Dhaka North and Dhaka South city corporations were held.
Since then he has been staying either in Malaysian or in Dubai. He also often visited London.
Yesterday, senior BNP leader Nazrul Islam Khan said the party would not take responsibility if any of its members is found personally involved in the killing.
Speaking at a dua mehfil at the party’s Nayapaltan central office for the health of Khaleda Zia and her son Tarique Rahman, both now in London, Nazrul said any bid to falsely implicate their party men would be rested.
Half an hour earlier, BNP spokesperson Asaduzzaman Ripon during a press briefing at the party office termed the home minister’s comments on MA Quayum “baseless”.
Replying to a question, Ripon said such statements from the government are “politically motivated” to “harass” BNP leaders.
He claimed none of the youths held in connection with the Tavella murder is a BNP activist.
‘POLICE EMBARRASSED’
The home minister’s remark that Tavella was murdered on Quayum’s instructions has put the police officials in an embarrassing situation, said DMP sources.
A number of DMP officials, wishing anonymity, said they don’t own the minister’s statement.
Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of Detective Brach of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told reporters that Tavella killing is part of a bigger plan and possibly several people were involved in this.
Meanwhile, investigators have received the ballistic report on the bullet stuck inside Tavella’s body and bullet shells found at the crime scene. Now they are waiting for the recovery of the pistol used in the murder, said an investigator.
LONDON LINK?
Awami League Joint General Secretary Mahbubul Alam Hanif yesterday said the instruction for the murder of two foreigners had come from London.
“There’s another big brother apart from the former BNP ward commissioner,” he said while talking to reporters after a meeting of the Swechchhasebak League at the Awami League president’s Dhanmondi office in the city.
The ruling party leader said the country’s conscious people had earlier suspected that Khaleda Zia went to London to hatch conspiracies. And this has now been proved.
To destabilise the country, the BNP-Jamaat clique carried out the killing of Tavella and Japanese citizen Kunio Hoshi, he alleged.
Hoshi was shot to death in Rangpur on October 3.
Hanif also criticised the foreigners who are “trying to link global militant outfit Islamic State (IS)” with the killings.
Source: The Daily Star
