Md Joynal Abedin Khan :
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) on Sunday handed over the custody of the Holey Artisan Bakery to its owners, nearly three and a half month after the deadly terror attack on July 1.
The authorities have taken over the café from the police as per the direction of the court, said Masudur Rahman, Deputy Commissioner (Media) of the DMP.
Police took custody of the café building and imposed restrictions on the public so that nobody can destroy the evidence of the crime scene of the attack for the sake of proper investigation, he added. Shahadad Mehedi, one of the owners of the Artisan Bakery, said the building will not house the café following threats of a cabinet minister. “The Holey Artisan Bakery’s plot will be used for accommodation and it will be shifted to another place as the people are still in fear of further attacks.”
Mehedi claimed they have already bought a piece of land to resume operations of the café, which is popular with dinners, especially foreign diplomats and business executives in the upscale Gulshan neighbourhood. In reply to a query, he did not mention where the café would be shifted.
“The government is likely to take action against Holey Artisan owners as it was running in the heart of the diplomatic enclave without the state’s approval,” Housing and Public Works Minister Mosarraf Hossain said on July 17.
The government has decided to clear the residential area of all commercial establishments operating without permission, he uttered. “The premier earlier ordered that illegal establishments be evicted from the strategic zone. However, we’re cautious about safety of foreigners living there.”
On the fateful night of July 1, five gunmen barged into the two-storey lakeside cafe, usually frequented with foreigners and expatriate Bangladeshis.
The home-grown jihadists took 30 people hostage and killed 29, including two police officers and a chef.
