A Dhaka court has issued arrest warrants against former BNP ward commissioner MA Qaiyum and another accused in connection with the murder of Italian citizen Cesare Tavella at Gulshan on September 28 last year.
Dhaka's Metropolitan Sessions Judge Md Kamrul Hossain Molla issued the order Wednesday after taking the charges against the seven accused into cognisance. The Gulshan OC was asked to submit a report on the execution of the order by August 31.
Qaiyum and another accused Sohel alias Bhangari Sohel have been on the run since the case was filed.
Tavella, an aid worker and veterinary surgeon, was shot dead by a gang of three youths, who came on a motorcycle, at Road 90, Gulshan 2 in the evening on September 28 last year. He had been living alone in Dhaka to work on food security issues for a Netherlands-based NGO.
It was the first murder claimed by international terrorist group Islamic State. But the investigators have found that BNP leader Qaiyum planned the murder as part of a conspiracy to create anarchy, embarrass the government and send a message to the foreigners that they are not safe in Bangladesh.
Qaiyum’s brother MA Matin coordinated the murder and he hired three killers to kill a “white man” (foreigner) and Tavella became their prey, the charge sheet says.
The five other accused – Qaiyum's brother Abdul Matin, Tamjid Ahmed Rubel alias Shooter Rubel, Russell Chowdhurya alias Chakki Russell, Minhajul Arefin alias Bhagne Russell and Shakhawat Hossain Sharif – are now in jail.
On June 28, DB Inspector Golam Rabbani, also investigation officer of the case, submitted the charge sheet. It was accepted by the court on July 17.
Four of the accused – Rubel, Russell, Minhajul and Shakhawat – have made confessional statements before magistrates. Although Matin admitted his involvement in the murder during the interrogation, he refused to give confessional statement before a court.
Thursday, June 04, 2026
