Four people have been arrested in Bangladesh in connection with the killing of an Italian aid worker last month.
Bangladeshi police said on Monday that they had detained four gunmen, adding that they have all confessed to carrying out the attack on September 28, which led to the killing of Cesare Tavella.
The men were identified as Minhajul Abedin Russel, Shakhawat Hossain, Russel Chowdhury, and Tamjid Ahmed Rubel.
The four suspects told the police that they had been hired by “a big brother” to randomly “attack a white man” in order to destabilize the country. They have reportedly received half of the money promised to them for carrying out the killing.
Tavella was shot dead by men on a motorcycle while he was jogging in the capital of Dhaka’s diplomatic quarter.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Asaduzzaman Mia said the “so-called big brother” had been identified.
Days after the Italian aid worker was killed, a Japanese national was also murdered in Rangpur Division's Kaunia district.
Daesh Takfiri terrorists later said its members had carried out both killings, a claim rejected by Bangladeshi authorities.
The Dhaka Metropolitan police commissioner added that the suspects were not involved in the killing of the Japanese man.
Earlier this week, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said Dhaka had “zero tolerance” for terrorist attacks and has vowed to punish those responsible for such instances of violence.