Court accepts charges, issues arrest warrant for BNP's Quayum

A Dhaka court yesterday issued arrest warrants for two accused, including BNP leader MA Quayum, in the murder case of Italian national Cesare Tavella.

Judge Kamrul Hossain Molla of the Metropolitan Sessions Judge's Court passed the order after showing the duo -- Quayum, ex-ward commissioner from Badda and a joint convenor of Dhaka city BNP, and Sohel alias Bhangari Sohel -- as fugitives.

Before issuing the arrest warrants, the court accepted charges against Quayum, Sohel and five others.

The other accused -- Mohammad Matin, brother of Quayum; Tamjid Ahmed Rubel, Russell Chowdhury, Minhajul Arefin, also known as Bhagne Russell, alleged supplier of firearms; and Shakhawat Hossain Sharif, who allegedly provided the motorcycle used in the killing, -- are behind bars.

Tavella, an aid worker, was killed in Dhaka's Gulshan Diplomatic Zone on September 28 last year.

Barely a week after on October 3, Japanese national Kunio Hoshi, a farmer, was shot dead at Alutari village of Kaunia upazila in Rangpur.

The judge yesterday passed the order after scrutinising the case dockets and other relevant documents.

The court directed officers-in-charge of Badda and Shibpur police stations to submit reports on execution of the arrest warrants by September 29.

US-based SITE Intelligence Group, which monitors militant activities, uploaded a post where Islamic State purportedly claimed responsibility for Tavella's murder.

Nearly a month after the murder, police said they arrested four youths, including three alleged contract killers, in Badda and Gulshan areas.