One of four men accused of killing Saudi embassy official Khalaf Al-Ali in Bangladesh confessed to his involvement in the murder at a Dhaka court on Monday.
Al Amin, 25, confessed before Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Shahriar Mahmud.
Those accused of the murder include Al Amin, Saiful Islam Mamun, Rafiqul Islam Khokon and Akbar Ali Lalu. All are in their 20s.
Al Amin reportedly told the court he and the other defendants surrounded the diplomat and demanded money from him.
Al-Ali refused and during the ensuring scuffle Saiful shot him and fled the scene with the other three men, the court heard.
After his testimony was heard, the judge remanded Al Amin in custody.
On Saturday, Bangladesh Ambassador Mohamed Shahidul Islam told Arab News that legal proceedings would be initiated against the four suspects who were arrested in connection with Al-Ali’s murder in Dhaka.
Last week Foreign Minister Prince Saudi Al-Faisal also confirmed the arrests in a statement to the Saudi Press Agency and praised the Bangladesh police’s handling of the case.
Over the past two months police conducted raids in different areas of the city, leading to the four arrests.
According to Deputy Police Commissioner of DB (North) Mollah Nazrul Islam, the suspects admitted to their involvement in the murder during questioning.
In the early hours of March 5, 45-year-old Al-Ali was shot dead in the capital’s Gulshan area.
Police recovered his body from the area and took it to the city’s United Hospital where doctors officially declared him dead.
The Saudi official, who joined the embassy in Dhaka about two years ago, lived in a rented apartment in the Gulshan area and used to walk the streets or take a bicycle ride almost every night.
The Bangladeshi Criminal Investigation Department confirmed the bullet that killed the Saudi diplomat was fired from the same .22 bore pistol recovered during the arrests.
Islam said the police have also taken a vehicle into their custody believed to have been used by the suspects.
The envoy said security authorities in Bangladesh worked round the clock to track those involved in the murder.
He said the whole country was affected by this tragedy, the scale of which had never happened before in the country.
Islam added: “Even our foreign minister Dipu Moni visited the Kingdom to convey her condolences on behalf of her government.”
In Dhaka, Mollah Nazrul Islam, deputy commissioner of Bangladesh Police’s detective branch, is currently handling the murder case.
Saudi Arabia has praised Bangladesh’s handling of the murder investigation.
Osama Nugali, a spokesman of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said yesterday: “The Kingdom has full faith in the ability of the Bangladesh security officials.”
“The Saudi government hopes the killers will be punished according to the laws of the land.”
He added Saudi Arabia was a key ally of Bangladesh and trusted the country’s leadership.
Around 2 million Bangladeshis work in the Kingdom.
Bangladesh Law Minister Shafique Ahmed said in a statement yesterday: “The Bangladesh government is keen to solve the case and is fully committed to completing the trial of the killers of Khalaf and punishing them.”
Ahmed said none convicted of the killing would be spared after meeting with Saudi Ambassador in Bangladesh Abdullah bin Naser Al-Busairi yesterday.
Bangladesh Home Minister Shahara Khatun, who also met with Al-Busairi in Dhaka, promised a quick resolution to the trial of the remaining defendants following Al Amin’s confession.