Holey Artisan Attack: Two accused identified by witness

A 16-year-old prosecution witness yesterday identified two accused in the Holey Artisan attack case before a Dhaka tribunal.

The two are Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, recruiter of the café attackers, and Rash, one of the planners of the attack. They are among the eight accused in the case.

In his statement to the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal of Dhaka, the boy said his father developed a friendship with two men, Musa and Jahid, while offering prayers together at Life School in the capital’s Uttara.

One day, Rash along with Jahid visited their house and his parents took Bayat (pledging spiritual allegiance to a spiritual master) of Rash, the witness said.

In line with Rash’s order, the family members told their relatives that they would settle in Malaysia, but they actually shifted to a rented house in Mirpur’s Pallabi area. The family later moved to another house in Bashundhara area.

“Tamim uncle, Marzan uncle and Rajib Gandhi uncle came to the Bashundhara house to live. We knew Rajib uncle as Jahangir. He lived in one room,” the boy told the tribunal.

“One day, a man whom we knew as ‘Chocolate uncle’ went to the house with five bags and kept them inside Tamim uncle’s room….

“Before going out of the house on the day of the Holy Artisan attack, they [militants] said they would meet with our family in heaven. They also suggested that we should leave the house soon. Later, we heard about the attack,” he said.

Another prosecution witness Firoz Maliha, who was stranded at the Holey Artisan Bakery, told the tribunal how she saw hostages being killed by the militants.

Judge Majibur Rahman of the tribunal set July 23 for the next hearing in the case.

On July 1, 2016, armed militants stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in the capital’s Gulshan and killed 20 hostages, mostly foreign nationals. Two police officials were also killed during the 12-hour standoff.

Police held home-grown militant group “Neo JMB” responsible for the country’s worst ever terrorist attack.

On July 23 this year, Inspector Humayun Kabir of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit submitted the charge sheet to the chief metropolitan magistrate of Dhaka, accusing eight people over the attack and naming 211 as prosecution witnesses. Humayun is also the investigating officer of the case.

On November 26 last year, the tribunal framed charges against the eight accused.