Investigators dealing with the murder of Italian citizen Cesare Tavella claimed to have detected abnormal transaction in the bank accounts of the suspected planners including BNP leader MA Quayum.
They have also kept some other BNP-Jamaat leaders under surveillance and are scrutinising their bank accounts to get a clear picture of the plot.
A high official of the agency investigating the sensational case said yesterday that they had got information about a dozen Big Brothers behind Tavella murder. Of them, only Quayum is staying outside the country.
They suspect that Quayum’s brother Mannan might have worked as the operation ‘s coordinator. “The mystery will be solved once we arrest the brothers,” the official said. “Mannan and Quayum had communicated through Viber before and after the murder,” he added.
Although no official wanted to disclose their identities, the Dhaka Tribune has learnt about some names. They are BNP leaders Azizul Bari Helal and Abdul Kader Bhuyian; and Jamaat-e-Islami leaders Hamidur Rahman, Abdullah Mohammad Taher and Maulana Rafiqul Islam.
NGO official Tavella was shot dead by some unidentified assailants at Gulshan diplomatic zone of the capital on September 28, only a couple of days after the Australian government had refused to send their cricket team to Dhaka citing security concerns.
The law enforcers have claimed that the killing was planned by some anti-government people only to embarrass the ruling party.
Nearly a month after the killing, on October 25, they produced four people before the media claiming that they had killed Tavella in exchange for money from a Big Brother. In primary inquiry, it was found that Quayum had planned and financed the killing.
Of the four arrestees, one Rubel has given confessional statement at the court under section 164, while the three others put on eight-day police remand.
The detectives are yet to ascertain the contract money, find the firearm and locate the financiers.
The detectives are now creating a list of suspicious bank accounts. Mahfuzul Islam, additional deputy commissioner of the detective branch (DB) of police, said that they would check details of those accounts upon getting permission of the court.
Sources said that money had been deposited to Quayum’s account from the UK and Malaysia. “He came to Bangladesh just before the killing and left the country after giving instructions to his brother Mannan,” a highly-placed source said yesterday.
However, former ward councillor Quayum on Wednesday claimed that he had been staying abroad for the last six-seven months.
A DB police official, requesting anonymity, told the Dhaka Tribune that they were to trying to locate Quayum as he told reporters that he had been staying abroad. “If needed, we will take help from the Interpol to bring him back,” the official added.
The investigators are also identifying the people Quayum is accustomed with. It would help them find the other financiers.
DMP Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah said that they were working to arrest the people who had given instructions to conduct the killing and the financiers.
Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal, the home minister, told the Dhaka Tribune that they had found the involvement of political people behind the killing Tavella. “We are hopeful to present them in front of the nation shortly,” he added.