Cesare Tavella’s murderers have been identified, sources close to the investigation said yesterday, as one investigating agency circulated security camera images believed to be of the Italian national’s three killers.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Detective Branch (DB) Deputy Commissioner (East Zone) Mahbub Alam, who leads the murder probe committee, told the Dhaka Tribune that the three killers in the Tavella murder case had been identified, are currently under surveillance and would soon be brought before the public and the courts.
Despite official denials by the Detective Branch that the suspects had been arrested, a source in an investigating agency said three murder suspects and a man suspected of claiming the murder on behalf of the Islamic State (IS) group in a Twitter announcement were in custody.
An investigating agency yesterday leaked security camera images of the suspected killers to news agencies, but declined to make any official comment about the images.
In one image, a man is seen walking on a street wearing a striped blue T-shirt, jeans and slippers. He is seen using a mobile telephone.
In another image taken by the same camera, a motorcyclist is seen wearing a light coloured shirt while another person is seen sitting on the motorbike behind the driver wearing darker colours.
The suspects’ faces are unclear in the images.
Witnesses earlier told investigators that they had seen three people involved in the shooting. Two had approached Tavella while a third man waited on a motorbike, they said.
On September 28, Tavella was fatally shot on the footpath just outside the boundary wall of the Bangladesh Bank governor’s residence on Road 90 in the capital’s posh Gulshan neighbourhood. He was shot by a single shooter, according to the ballistics report.
The shooter and two accomplices fled the scene of the crime on a motorbike via Gulshan Roads 83 and 89, witnesses said.
Investigators said one of the killers might have gotten off the motorcycle at some point so that they would not be easily identified.
When asked about the images, DB deputy commissioner Mahbub said many agencies were involved in the investigation and one of them might have publicised them.
Investigators have officially denied that they have made any arrests in the Tavella murder case. But a source at one investigating agency claimed the suspected killers were already in custody.
The same source confirmed that eight to ten people had been detained by investigators, including Bhangari Sohel, 35, Tamjid Ahmed alias Rubel, 35, Rasel Chowdhury, 27, and one Rubel, 32. Rubel was taken into custody for allegedly issuing the IS claim tweet.
Rasel Chowdhury’s mother told the Dhaka Tribune that a plain clothes team led by an official named Zeahad picked her son up from their house around 11am on October 10. She said they did not answer her when she asked if they had a warrant for the arrest.
“The men just told me that they had come from Mintoo Road,” she said.
DB Inspector Zeahad Hossain is the investigating officer in the Tavella murder case.
She claims that Rasel was not involved in politics, aside from taking part with friends in political processions during his school days.
When asked about his physical appearance, she said Rasel was 5 foot 6 or 7 inches tall and had a dark complexion. She described him as having a medium build and short black hair.
Residents of his neighbourhood said Rasel had been a drug addict for several years.
Sources close to the investigation said Tamjid Ahmed alias Rubel, Sohel and Rasel were very likely Cesare Tavella’s killers. Investigators said they were trying to locate the mastermind behind the killing.
They said links had been discovered connecting the murder to an anti-ruling party group. Investigators said the group had been assisted by two foreign agencies.
Although police initially said footage collected from near the crime scene was not clear and would be of little help to the investigation, the latest lead appears to be based entirely on security camera footage.
Investigators said they had looked into Tavella’s personal, professional and social life for clues to the slaying but that these angles failed to provide any leads.
They said they were also sensitive to the possibility that the killing was part of a conspiracy to create unrest in the country.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
These pictures do not prove that these are the murderers. These photos could be taken any time anywhere. I only hope that police which is under pressure from the foreign governments is not playing games to appease public perception of police incompetence.