Kalabagan murders

Suspects identified, says minister; cops deny claim

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday claimed that three suspects had been identified in connection with the murders of USAID employee Xulhaz Mannan and his theatre activist friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy. However, top law enforcement officials told The Independent that they had no such information till yesterday. While talking to a group of journalists outside his Dhanmondi residence as well as at a programme at Elephant Road in the city, the home minister said three persons have been identified in connection with the killings. “Different media outlets have also carried such reports. But I cannot say anything about it right now. I can give you the details a few days later,” he added. The Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is currently investigating the murders, and several other law enforcement agencies, including the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), are also working on the gruesome murders. When asked to explain the claim, DB joint commissioner Abdul Baten told this correspondent that the explanation should be sought from the home minister’s office. On whether the trio was members of any banned Islamist militant outfit, he said, “I have not heard what he (the home minister) said.” On being asked whether the DB had indeed identified anyone in connection with the murders, he said, “First, we need to arrest the killers and then we can confirm their identities.” “Whenever we have any remarkable progress in the case, we shall inform you,” the new DB boss said. Maruf Hossain Sarder, deputy commissioner of DMP (media and public relations), also said, “I have no such information till now (yesterday evening).” Col. Anwar Latif Khan, the newly appointed additional director general of RAB, refused to comment on the issue. “We are working on it,” was all he would say. On Monday night, Xulhaz Mannan, 35, a USAID employee and a former protocol officer of the US ambassador, and his theatre activist friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy, 25, were hacked to death at their flat in Kalabagan. The next day, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed that the five attackers, who had posed as deliverymen to enter the building, were its ‘mujahideens’, and they had murdered the duo for “promoting and practising homosexuality”. The government, however, has been vehemently denying the presence of any global terrorist groups in the country. US Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday night and requested her to take necessary steps to bring the killers to book.

Kalabagan murders

Suspects identified, says minister; cops deny claim

Home minister Asaduzzaman Khan Kamal yesterday claimed that three suspects had been identified in connection with the murders of USAID employee Xulhaz Mannan and his theatre activist friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy. However, top law enforcement officials told The Independent that they had no such information till yesterday. While talking to a group of journalists outside his Dhanmondi residence as well as at a programme at Elephant Road in the city, the home minister said three persons have been identified in connection with the killings. Different media outlets have also carried such reports. But I cannot say anything about it right now. I can give you the details a few days later, he added. The Detective Branch (DB) of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) is currently investigating the murders, and several other law enforcement agencies, including the elite force Rapid Action Battalion (RAB), are also working on the gruesome murders. When asked to explain the claim, DB joint commissioner Abdul Baten told this correspondent that the explanation should be sought from the home ministers office. On whether the trio was members of any banned Islamist militant outfit, he said, I have not heard what he (the home minister) said. On being asked whether the DB had indeed identified anyone in connection with the murders, he said, First, we need to arrest the killers and then we can confirm their identities. Whenever we have any remarkable progress in the case, we shall inform you, the new DB boss said. Maruf Hossain Sarder, deputy commissioner of DMP (media and public relations), also said, I have no such information till now (yesterday evening). Col. Anwar Latif Khan, the newly appointed additional director general of RAB, refused to comment on the issue. We are working on it, was all he would say. On Monday night, Xulhaz Mannan, 35, a USAID employee and a former protocol officer of the US ambassador, and his theatre activist friend Mahbub Rabbi Tonoy, 25, were hacked to death at their flat in Kalabagan. The next day, Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) claimed that the five attackers, who had posed as deliverymen to enter the building, were its mujahideens, and they had murdered the duo for promoting and practising homosexuality. The government, however, has been vehemently denying the presence of any global terrorist groups in the country. US Secretary of State John Kerry phoned Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Thursday night and requested her to take necessary steps to bring the killers to book.