Fresh fear grips BNP, Jamaat ranks

Law enforcers' latest hunt for "a so-called big brother," who was allegedly behind the killing of Italian national Cesare Tavella, has sparked a fresh panic among leaders of BNP and Jamaat-e-Islami.

But who is this big brother?

"He could be a mid- or low-level leader of a certain political party," said a detective, without giving any further details.

Talking to The Daily Star, some BNP and Jamaat leaders said they were already under pressure, as the government policymakers had been pointing fingers at them for the killings of Tavella and Hoshi Kunio,

a Japanese national.

Against this backdrop, police's announcement of hunting for "a so-called big brother" will mount pressure on their leaders, they said.

They fear that police will force the "big brother" to name senior BNP-Jamaat leaders as masterminds behind the two killings.

"Our field level leaders are on the run already. If any top leaders of the Dhaka city BNP is implicated in these killings, harassment of our leaders will increase further," a BNP standing committee member told The Daily Star on condition of anonymity.

Two Dhaka city BNP leaders echoed his views.

Quoting intelligence agencies, various newspapers have been reporting the alleged involvement of Habib-un Nabi Khan Sohel, member secretary of Dhaka city BNP, in the killing of Kunio.

Asked, BNP acting secretary general Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir said the new theory of "big brother" would be used as a tool to intensify police crackdown on opposition men.

"Police who are supposed to identify the real culprits are making unwarranted comments. They are being used by the government to eliminate the opposition entirely," he alleged.

Mosiul Alam, a member of Jamaat's central Majlish-e-Surah, alleged police were arresting their leaders across the country over the killings of the two foreign nationals.

"Now, police is cooking up a new story like big brother to arrest more opposition men," he told The Daily Star.

BNP senior leader Nazrul Islam Khan alleged, "Whatever happens, the government blames it on the BNP to destroy the party … But people understand why the government is after the BNP. They do not believe the government claims."