Three more prosecution witnesses testify

Three more prosecution witnesses yesterday testified before a Dhaka court in connection with a case filed over the terrorist attack in Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka.

So far, four prosecution witnesses testified in the case filed over the attack in the upscale café in Gulshan's diplomatic zone.

The witnesses Chef Samir Barai, Security Guard Md Nur Alam and Driver Abdur Razzak Rana, testified before the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal of Dhaka yesterday.

Judge Majibur Rahman recorded their statements and the defence counsel cross-examined them.

In his statement, Samir said at 7:00pm on July 1, 2016, he heard gunshots and blasts outside while he was cooking dishes in the kitchen.

“I took shelter in the washroom. The following day, army rescued me from there,” he added.

Security guard Nur Alam said around 5:45pm five to six persons forcefully entered the restaurant.

“After a while, I heard gunshots and later fled the scene and took shelter in Lake View Clinic,” he added.

Rana, the third prosecution witness, and a driver for Jica said that at 7:00pm he was waiting outside the Holey Artisan Bakery after dropping off four Japanese nationals there.

“At around 9:00pm, a bomb exploded”, he recalled.

The tribunal fixed December 17 for the next hearing of the case.

Earlier in the day, all the six accused were produced before the court.

They are Jahangir Alam, Rashed, Sohel Mahfuz, Mizanur Rahman, Hadisur Rahman Sagor and Rakibul Islam while two other accused -- Shariful Islam Khaled and Mamunur Rashid Ripon are on the run.

On July 23 this year, Inspector Humayun Kabir of the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit, pressed charges against eight persons for their alleged involvement in the case.

On November 26 the tribunal framed charges against the eight.