Britain, Australia update travel alert
Govt to brief foreign envoys tomorrow
DIPLOMATIC CORRESPONDENT
Following the killing of the Japanese national, the United Kingdom and Australia yesterday updated travel advices for their citizens living in Bangladesh or planning to visit Bangladesh. There is a high threat from terrorism. Attacks could be indiscriminate, including in places visited by foreigners, said the travel advice issued by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. You should be particularly vigilant and take appropriate security precautions. Keep a low profile in all public spaces and limit your attendance at events where westerners may gather, eg in hotels or conference centres, it said.
On the evening of 28 September, an Italian citizen was shot and killed in Road 90 of the Gulshan diplomatic zone in Dhaka. On the morning of 3 October a Japanese citizen was shot and killed in Rangpur district, in Northern Bangladesh, said the advice.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has claimed responsibility for both attacks, it added.
Referring the killing of the Japanese national, the travel advice issued by Australia said, There are reports that the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has claimed responsibility for this attack, although this is yet to be confirmed.
The Australian Government has advised staff to travel only by vehicle in Dhaka for the time being. This restriction is in addition to our ongoing advice to staff to limit their movements in public places, including locations frequented by foreigners, it said.
We recommend that Australians adopt similar security measures. The level of advice has not changed. You should exercise a high degree of caution in Bangladesh, it added.
Meanwhile, against the backdrop of the killing of two foreigners in the country, the government will brief the foreign envoys stationed in Bangladesh tomorrow on the situation and measures taken by the authorities to face it, sources at the foreign ministry told The Independent yesterday.
Foreign Minister Abul Hassan Mahmood Ali is expected to brief the heads of the diplomatic missions at a state guest house, possibly, Padma, said the sources, adding that Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal may also attend the briefing.
On September 29, the day after the murder of Italian aid worker Tavella Cesare, British High Commissioner to Bangladesh Robert Gibson, also the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in Bangladesh, verbally requested the foreign ministry to organise a briefing to apprise the foreign diplomats about the situation, they said.
A written communication, diplomatically known as note verbale, was also sent to the foreign ministry on September 30, they added. The sources said that at the briefing, the government will try to assure the foreign diplomats that the government is doing all it can to deal with the situation.
The diplomats will also be briefed on the measures taken by the government following the killing of these two foreigners.
The sources, however, said that the government apparently does not have the answer to two important questions as to who committed the crimes and what are the motives.
About the visit of the Japanese delegation, the sources did not disclose the objectives and the composition of the team.
The sources said that the body of the deceased Japanese is all but certain to be flown back to Japan after completing some formalities. Unlike the westerners, Japan is unlikely to reach any conclusion about the killing of its national before the conclusion of the investigation, they said.
They also said that a three-member Japanese delegation is due to arrive in the capital within a couple of days, in connection with the killing of Japanese national Kunio Hoshi in Rangpur on Saturday.
Japanese Embassy in Bangladesh is in constant touch with the foreign ministry, they added.
Security was beefed up after the killing of the Italian citizen and the government has assured the Japanese side of providing enhanced security, said the sources.
They also said that the Japanese Foreign Ministry yesterday issued a travel advisory asking its citizens to remain cautious in the Muslim countries.
Referring to the killing of its national in Rangpur, the advisory said that an organisation claiming itself as ISIS took the responsibility of the killing.
Meanwhile, security measures were beefed up in the capitals Gulshan-Banani-Baridhara diplomatic zone and adjacent areas following the recent killings of two foreign nationals in the country.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) officials have set up additional cheek posts inside the diplomatic Zone to enhance the security measures to avert any untoward situation, officials said.
We have already increased the number of cheek posts in different areas in the city, several DMP officials said.
With all our patrolling teams, motor bikes were provided and numbers of forces were also increased, they said.
We also instructed our forces not to allow any bike with youth riders to roam around inside the diplomatic zone without proper checking, a senior officer of DMP said on condition of anonymity as he was not entitled to speak to media.
While talking to The Independent, Assistant Police Commissioner (Cantonment Zone) Kudrat-E Khuda said, We have deployed additional forces in the vulnerable areas like ECB crossing and Lotus crossing adjacent to the cantonment area.
There are several hotels in the area where huge numbers of foreigners are currently staying, he said adding that since some foreigners feel disturbed when uniformed cops closely follow them. So, plain cloth forces were deployed to ensure their security.
We have already brought additional forces from outside considering the needs, he added.
Major Rumman Mahmood, Deputy Director of Rapid Action Battalions Legal and Media Wing told The Independent that they have increased their surveillances in the diplomatic zone.
Cheek posts have been also increased, he said without disclosing the numbers for the security reasons.
Post-mortem of murdered Japanese citizen conducted
Our Correspondent, Rangpur
Local physicians conducted the post-mortem of Japanese citizen Kunio Hoshi at Rangpur Medical College Hospital yesterday noon.
Prof. Rafiqul Islam, head of the forensic department, along with Dr Horendra Nath, Dr Sultana, and Dr Robi Sankar, conducted the post-mortem. A Japanese team was also present during the procedure.
Earlier, the Japanese team, along with officials of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), visited the spot were the murder took place.
The Japanese team met local people, who said that after they found the victim, they took him to Rangpur Medical College Hospital.
The Japanese team also met the principal of Rangpur Medical College, Prof. Dr Zakir Hossain, and other departmental heads.
The motive behind the murder is yet to be known. But some suspect financial disputes to be the reason. Some local sources said Hoshi had invested a huge sum in the agricultural business.
A rumour has also spread that Hoshi was the partner of a lessee of a water body named Nasniar Bill. The water body is the property of Rangpur City Corporation. When contacted, city mayor Sharfuddin Ahamed Jhantu, said the Japanese citizen was not involved in any lease. UNB adds: US Ambassador in Dhaka Marcia Bernicat yesterday said the US is assisting Bangladesh in verifying the reported claims of IS over the killing two foreign nationals.
She made the remarks while talking to reporters after attending the closing ceremony of Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (CARAT) 2015 in Chittagong.
Bernicat also said the US government has taken the IS claims seriously.
