Bangladesh rules out IS links to Italian's murder

Bangladesh police on Monday claimed to have unearthed the motive behind the murder of an Italian national in capital Dhaka and ruled out IS link to his killing last month.

The Detective Branch of Bangladesh police early Monday arrested four key suspects for the murder of the Italian national, Tavela Ceaser, who was shot dead last month in Dhaka, Xinhua news agency reported.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Commissioner Asaduzzaman Miah on Monday said the Italian national was killed in exchange for money. The killers were hired by someone Miah termed as "a so-called big brother".

He said the "big brother" asked the hired men to kill any white-skin foreigner to create trouble for the government.

"Tavela was not target. Target was to kill someone white-skin, specially from western countries."

Gunmen shot dead the Italian around 7.00 p.m. (local time) on September 28 in Dhaka, in the first attack claimed by IS group.

Miah said the investigators have found no IS link to the Italian's murder.

"After interrogation we found that murder was carried out as part of local and foreign conspiracies aimed at destabilising the country," he said.

"Soon we will arrest the big brother who hatched the conspiracy."

"After the arrest of the so-called big brother we can understand about the IS claim through one Rita Katz's SITE Intelligence Group," said Joint Commissioner Monirul Islam.

"We did not find even the slightest link of militant outfits in the murder."

Bangladeshi police chief AKM Shahidul Huq on Saturday said vested interest groups, which are against the trials of war criminals in the country, may have launched the attack to create instability.

Since the killing of the two foreigners, countries including the US have repeatedly raised alarms of presence of the IS in Bangladesh although the government categorically ruled out the presence of the group in the country.

Miah on Monday said foreigners have nothing to be worried about as they have beefed up security measures in the country to prevent any further untoward incident.