Sagar Biswas :
Today is 1st July, the first anniversary of Gulshan café attack, where armed Islamist militants took lives of 22 persons, including 18 foreigners and two police officers, on the fateful night in the name of Jihad against the unarmed people.
Though one year has gone, the investigation authority could not finish their task for the reasons best known to them. Not only that, they also did not get autopsy report of five slain terrorists till the date, for which the submission of chargesheet is getting delayed.
Interestingly, Chief of Forensic Department at Dhaka Medical College Dr Sohel Mahmud yesterday said that the postmortem reports of five militants, killed in army commando operation the following day, will be handed over to the police today [Saturday].
A source close to the investigation team told The New Nation on Friday that inquiry process will not be completed until three other terrorists are captured; now on the run.
But reliable sources said eight ‘dangerous’ militants are still out of touch.
The eight are: Abdus Samad alias Mamu, Rashed alias Rawash, Mamunur Rashid Ripon, Shariful Islam Khalid, one of the planners and grenade suppliers Sohel Mahfuz alias Hatkata Mahfuz, explosive supplier Hadisur Rahman Sagor and Mizanur Rahman alias Chhotto Mizan, and fund collector Basaruzzaman alias Chocolate.
One of the prime suspects Hasnat Reza Karim, former teacher of North South University, is now in the jail. The investigators, however, identified 26 persons more, including the mastermind; all are the operatives of banned Islamist militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahedin Bangladesh [JMB], directly or indirectly involved in the bloodshed.
Fourteen operatives, including top ranking militant leader Tamim Chowdhury, two trainers and five attackers, were killed during counter operations by the security agents in the last few months. Four accused militants, including Rajib Gandhi alias Zahangir, have been arrested in the meantime. Three of them, including Mizanur Rahman alias Baro Mizan and Rakibul Hasan Regan, gave confessional statements before the court.
In the statements they said the attack plan was orchestrated at an isolated char land of Gaibnadha district. Police also confirmed that five militants who were directly involved in the attack had got arms training in the camp. And the arms-ammunition and explosives were brought into the country from India through Chapainababganj and Jessore borders.
After the attack, the Amaq News Agency several times released news along with pictures that IS [Islamic State] operatives had taken part in the Jihadi operation. But refuting the claim, Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit Monirul Islam told the media that they had not got any evidence about the involvement of any international militant outfit in the Gulshan attack.
The CTTC Chief further said the Holey Artisan Bakery was not first preference to the terrorist at the first time. Rather they had preliminarily planned to conduct scattered attacks at Gulshan and Baridhara. Later, they choose the café as a ‘soft target’ due to lack of security where foreigners usually gathered.
Investigators revealed that Major [retd] Zahidul Islam alias Murad alias Rayhan Kabir Tareq gave training to the attackers in Gaibandha char. Of them, Rayhan was killed by security forces in the city’s Kalyanpur on July 26 and Zahid killed at Rupnagar in the capital on September 2.
Marking the anniversary, the place of occurrence Holey Artisan Bakery at Plot No-5, Road No-79 Gulshan will remain open four hours from 10:00am to 2:00pm today for the general people to pay homage to the departed souls. A dais has also been set up there to place floral wreaths by the visitors.
Police handed over the place to the owner on November 13 last year after keeping the place under their supervision for long four and a half months. The owners have said the place will not be rented out for business purpose again and they were turning it into a residential house.
Today is 1st July, the first anniversary of Gulshan café attack, where armed Islamist militants took lives of 22 persons, including 18 foreigners and two police officers, on the fateful night in the name of Jihad against the unarmed people.
Though one year has gone, the investigation authority could not finish their task for the reasons best known to them. Not only that, they also did not get autopsy report of five slain terrorists till the date, for which the submission of chargesheet is getting delayed.
Interestingly, Chief of Forensic Department at Dhaka Medical College Dr Sohel Mahmud yesterday said that the postmortem reports of five militants, killed in army commando operation the following day, will be handed over to the police today [Saturday].
A source close to the investigation team told The New Nation on Friday that inquiry process will not be completed until three other terrorists are captured; now on the run.
But reliable sources said eight ‘dangerous’ militants are still out of touch.
The eight are: Abdus Samad alias Mamu, Rashed alias Rawash, Mamunur Rashid Ripon, Shariful Islam Khalid, one of the planners and grenade suppliers Sohel Mahfuz alias Hatkata Mahfuz, explosive supplier Hadisur Rahman Sagor and Mizanur Rahman alias Chhotto Mizan, and fund collector Basaruzzaman alias Chocolate.
One of the prime suspects Hasnat Reza Karim, former teacher of North South University, is now in the jail. The investigators, however, identified 26 persons more, including the mastermind; all are the operatives of banned Islamist militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahedin Bangladesh [JMB], directly or indirectly involved in the bloodshed.
Fourteen operatives, including top ranking militant leader Tamim Chowdhury, two trainers and five attackers, were killed during counter operations by the security agents in the last few months. Four accused militants, including Rajib Gandhi alias Zahangir, have been arrested in the meantime. Three of them, including Mizanur Rahman alias Baro Mizan and Rakibul Hasan Regan, gave confessional statements before the court.
In the statements they said the attack plan was orchestrated at an isolated char land of Gaibnadha district. Police also confirmed that five militants who were directly involved in the attack had got arms training in the camp. And the arms-ammunition and explosives were brought into the country from India through Chapainababganj and Jessore borders.
After the attack, the Amaq News Agency several times released news along with pictures that IS [Islamic State] operatives had taken part in the Jihadi operation. But refuting the claim, Chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit Monirul Islam told the media that they had not got any evidence about the involvement of any international militant outfit in the Gulshan attack.
The CTTC Chief further said the Holey Artisan Bakery was not first preference to the terrorist at the first time. Rather they had preliminarily planned to conduct scattered attacks at Gulshan and Baridhara. Later, they choose the café as a ‘soft target’ due to lack of security where foreigners usually gathered.
Investigators revealed that Major [retd] Zahidul Islam alias Murad alias Rayhan Kabir Tareq gave training to the attackers in Gaibandha char. Of them, Rayhan was killed by security forces in the city’s Kalyanpur on July 26 and Zahid killed at Rupnagar in the capital on September 2.
Marking the anniversary, the place of occurrence Holey Artisan Bakery at Plot No-5, Road No-79 Gulshan will remain open four hours from 10:00am to 2:00pm today for the general people to pay homage to the departed souls. A dais has also been set up there to place floral wreaths by the visitors.
Police handed over the place to the owner on November 13 last year after keeping the place under their supervision for long four and a half months. The owners have said the place will not be rented out for business purpose again and they were turning it into a residential house.
