A Dhaka court has fixed November 27 to deliver judgment in the case filed for the gruesome terror attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s Gulshan area on July 1, 2016, leaving 22 people killed, including 17 foreigners.
Judge Md Mojibur Rahman of Dhaka’s Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal on Sunday set the date after hearing the concluding arguments of both the prosecution and the defence in the case.
In his argument, Special Public Prosecutor of the tribunal, Md Golam Sharuar Khan Zakir, sought the highest punishment for the eight accused, while defence lawyer Md Delwar Hossain hoped his clients would be acquitted from the charges brought against them as the prosecution has supposedly failed to prove the charges.
A 113 out of 211 prosecution witnesses gave depositions before the court in the much talked about case.
The trial against the eight accused started on November 26, 2018.
On July 1, 2016, gunmen stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in the capital’s Gulshan area.
File photo of RAB officials standing in front of Holey Artisan Bakery | Dhaka Tribune
They opened fire and held 40 people hostage, comprised of restaurant staff and guests, both locals and foreigners.
Twenty-two people, including 17 foreigners, were brutally killed in the gruesome terror attack at the posh cafe.
A case was filed with Gulshan police station under the Anti-Terrorism Act.
After more than two years of investigation, the Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) submitted a charge sheet on July 23, 2018, against eight suspected operatives of the banned militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
The accused are, Rashedul Islam alias Rash, one of the planners, Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, recruiter of the café attackers, Sohel Mahfuz, supplier of grenades, Mizanur Rahman alias Baro Mizan and Hadisur Rahman Sagar, suppliers of arms, and Rakibul Hasan Regan, a so-called religious trainer, Shariful Islam Khaled, and Mamunur Rashid Ripon.
File Photo: A woman holds photograph of a victim of Holey Artisan attack at Holey Artisan Bakery and Café on Monday, July 1, 2019 | Mehedi Hasan/Dhaka Tribune
In the charge sheet, the CTTC said New JMB militants had planned the attack for six months and their intention was to create unrest in Bangladesh and turn it into a terrorist state.
In the investigation, the CTTC found involvement of 21 militants with the Holey Artisan attack.
Of them, five attackers — Nibrash Islam, Mir Sabeh Mubashir, Rohan Imtiaz, Khairul Islam Payel, and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal — were killed inside the café in a commando operation launched to end the siege.
Eight others, including mastermind of the attack, Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, were killed later in various anti militancy drives in different parts of the country.
