Staff Reporter :Police on Sunday claimed that they had initially identified the trainer and the arms supplier of the Gulshan café attack that left 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, dead on July 1. Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Counter Terrorism and Transitional Crime Unit (CTTC) Chief Monirul Islam said this in a press briefing at the Police Headquarters in the city on Sunday.He added, the latest photos that surfaced in newspapers regarding “suspicious” activities of two café attack survivors are being “scrutinized”.”We have got many photographs which we are reviewing at the moment,” the CTTC chief said. He requested anyone having any photos relating to the militant attack to supply those to the investigating authorities of the case.Two photographs of Hasnat Karim and Tahmid Hasib Khan that surfaced on Sunday’s newspapers following the Gulshan café attack have sparked new interests.In the photos taken from a nearby building, former North South University teacher Hasnat and Canadian university student Tahmid are seen talking with one of the militants Rohan Imtaiz, who attacked the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s diplomatic zone.The photos taken the next morning show Tahmid and Rohan carrying firearms were talking with Hasnat on the rooftop of the café.Tahmid was holding a pistol and both he and Rohan were listening to Hasnat. Asked about the supplier of the arms to the attackers and their trainers, he said they will be able to inform the press after further investigation.Monirul Islam also claimed that Bangladesh-origin Canadian national Tamim Chowdhury was the coordinator of the attackers at the Holey Artisan Bakery in capital’s Gulshan.Detectives investigating the attack claimed Tamim held a meeting with the attackers at a rented house in Bashundhara Residential Area just two days before the attack.According to the detective official, the attackers went to the Holey Artisan restaurant straight from the rented house.The detective official also claimed to have identified 10 people which include masterminds, coordinators, and fund-providers for the attack and all of them are members of Neo-JMB, an offshoot of Jamaatul Mujahideen Bangladesh.Being asked about the newly released pictures of Hasnat and Tahmid, he said, “In this age of technology, many things are possible.””Investigation can be hampered in most of the cases due to such so-called investigative reports as it can create misunderstanding,” the police official said. He expected that media will avoid publishing “so-called” investigative reports without reference of investigators or officials concerned. In a query, about the development of Gulshan attack case, he said police obtained lots of information about who were involved in the incident. As the investigation is going on, they can’t disclose it, he said.After the arrest of some people, things would be clearer, he added.Hasnat is a former teacher at North South University. Tahmid, a Canadian residence permit holder, is currently enrolled as a student at the University of Toronto.They were arrested on August 4 under section 54 and produced before a Dhaka court the next day. The court placed them on an eight-day remand.On the other hand, investigators suspect that the militants visited the Spanish restaurant several times prior to the attack.They also said that the attackers had gone to the restaurant on a microbus to carry out the operation.They did not get any clue from the CCTV camera installed in the cafe as it was damaged prior to the hostage situation. On July 8, a New York Times report quoted two hostages as saying that the attackers had ordered Tahmid Hasib Khan and Hasnat Karim to perform specific tasks for them.”At one point, the attackers directed Tahmid Hasib Khan to carry a gun and go with them to the roof of the restaurant, the hostages said.Twenty people, including 17 foreigners, were shot and hacked to death inside the cafe while two police officers were killed as they tried to get close to the spot on July 1. The attackers were killed in a commando operation the next morning.
