Perpetrators of Holey Artisan Attack: Families left in ruins

Badiuzzaman became landless nearly 15 years ago, when all his 20 bighas of arable land in Bogura’s Dhunat upazila eroded into mighty Jamuna.

The devastation forced him to work as a day labourer to bear family expenses, including education of his three sons. After his first child dropped out and another was physically challenged, Badiuzzaman pinned his hopes on his youngest son, Shafiqul Islam Uzzal.

Uzzal not only shattered his dreams, but put the entire family in disarray. He was one of the five youths who carried out the country’s deadliest militant attack at Holey Artisan Café in Gulshan on July 1, 2016, an incident that shook the nation to its core.

“I had picked up every odd job to bear his educational expenses, with the hope that he would someday take the family’s responsibility. But my son became a killer and murdered innocent people. He destroyed everything,” said a desolate Badiuzzaman (65).

“I feel ashamed to talk to my neighbours because of him,” he said, adding that his family is on the verge of ruins.

Like Badiuzzaman, family members of at least eight out of 21 suspected militants involved in the café attack shared similar ordeals they have been enduring after their loved ones turned out to be dreaded killers.

Some of them are now struggling to make ends meet after losing their breadwinners, while some are seeing a bleak future as their “last resort of hope” are either in jail or got killed during anti-militancy drives by law enforcers after the attack.

However, they all have one unpleasant experience in common: social isolation.

Monirul Islam, chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, said the militants not only destroyed themselves but also made their family members victims.

“The family members of the militants were humiliated in their communities… Relatives of the many of them have turned away. In some cases, people cut business ties with their families,” he told The Daily Star.

The CTTC chief said they have started working closely with those family members, as they found them innocent during investigation.

The families also helped police sincerely, he added.

After the death of her husband, 55-year-old Rokeya Akhter from Bogura solaced herself when her only son Rakibul Hasan Regan got GPA-5 in SSC in 2013. Against all odds, she was financing his education.

Regan also got GPA-5 in HSC exam.

Rokeya hoped her son would be a doctor and bring happiness to her family. But all her efforts failed when Regan was pulled into militancy and left home in July 2015, just a year before the deadly terror attack.

“My world crumbled before my eyes after Regan was arrested in the case.

Now, my physical and mental health have deteriorated from rushing between the court and home for my son,” Rokeya, a nurse by profession, told The Daily Star.

A suspected “Neo JMB” leader, Regan was allegedly among those who trained the five café attackers including Uzzal. The attack left 22 people including 17 foreigners and two police officials killed.

Regan (22) was wounded and subsequently caught during a police raid at a militant den at Kalyanpur on July 26, 2016. He confessed to his involvement in the Gulshan Attack before a magistrate on October 3 that year.

“We are living a life of misery. My son has left us helpless,” 78-year-old Abdul Baten Kadery, father of café attack financer Tanvir Kadery, told The Daily Star.

Tanvir, a banker who forced her wife and two underage sons into the dark path, killed himself during an anti-militancy drive on September 10, 2016.

His wife Abedatul Fatema, who used to work in a renowned international NGO, is now in jail. One of their sons was killed in anti-militancy drive on December 24 that year.

“At my age, I was supposed to be flanked by my son, his wife and my grandchildren… But my son did wrong and got punished for it. I have no regrets for it,” Baten said.

He urged all not to join militant activities like his son and carry out such heinous act.

Abdus Salam, father of another accused militant Aslam Hossain alias Rash, said “My family has been devastated. The sufferings we have gone through over the years are beyond words.” “I still cannot sleep at night,” he said.   

He, however, thinks his son is innocent, and they will get justice through the verdict -- slated to be delivered today.