Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s Court has granted bail to Dhaka terror attack hostage Tahmid Hasib Khan, who was arrested under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) nearly a month ago.
Metropolitan Magistrate Laskar Sohel Rana issued the order yesterday after Tahmid’s counsel Advocate Hamidur Rahman placed a bail petition before the court.
However, the court fixed October 5 as the hearing of a petition filed by the case’s investigation officer to file another case against Tahmid for not cooperating with police during the investigation.
In the bail petition, the defence counsel said since the investigation officer submitted an application to withdraw the charges against Tahmid, he could be granted bail in the case.
Also read- Hasnat, Tahmid arrested, remanded
The counsel also assured the court that Tahmid would not abscond after getting bail and would appear before the court whenever he was summoned.
The investigation officer of the case, Inspector Humayun Kabir of the Counterterrorism and Transnational Crimes (CTTC) unit of police, submitted a petition before the court on September 28 seeking Tahmid’s acquittal from the charges against him.
Police have not found any militant connection of Tahmid during investigation, which is why he is eligible to be acquitted, said the petition.
The investigation officer further said Tahmid, who was held hostage with others at the cafe by the attackers, was rescued the next day by a joint commando force.
Also read- Families of Tahmid and Hasnat concerned
The terror attack took place on July 1 night when militants stormed Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan, Dhaka and massacred 21 people, 17 of whom were foreign nationals dining at the restaurant. The attackers took other diners and restaurant staff captive and had confrontations with police, killing two police officials as a result. Next morning, a joint commando force stormed the bakery, killing all the attackers and rescuing the captives, ending the terror siege of nearly 11 hours. A case was filed with Gulshan police station in this regard, and the CTTC unit took over the investigation. All the survivors were interrogated by the Detective Branch of police and released afterwards, but only Tahmid and Hasnat R Karim, another survivor, was not released from the police custody, according to their families. Almost a month later, Tahmid and Hasnat were both shown arrested on August 3 for their “dubious roles” during the attack. They were arrested under CrPC Section 54, which allows police to arrest a person without a warrant if there is a reasonable suspicion that the person is involved in a crime.‘Tahmid uncooperative with police’While Tahmid’s family claimed that he never returned home from police custody, Inspector Humayun Kabir claimed that he was released immediately after his interrogation was finished. The inspector said after interrogation with the detectives on July 2, Tahmid was taken in custody by another law enforcement agency for interrogation, but he was handed over to his family on the same day. As he was a witness of the attack and the hostage situation, the CTTC sent him notice twice – one on July 10 and another on July 21 – seeking information on the attackers, but Tahmid did not respond or contact with the investigators, Humayun said in the petition. Due to his reluctance to cooperate with police, he was arrested under Section 54 and police investigated to see if he had any connection with militancy. “Since we found no such connection, we ask to release him from the charges,” the inspector said. But as he did not provide the investigators with information when they sought it, another petition was filed seeking the court’s approval to file a case against Tahmid under Section 176 of the Penal Code, he added. Section 176 states that a person who intentionally refuses to provide information to public servants, i.e. law enforcement officers, is punishable by law. “Police are saying that Tahmid did not cooperate with them. We will know more after the hearing on October 5,” said Hamidur, Tahmid’s counsel. However, Tahmid’s family has repeatedly claimed that police never released him from their custody and campaigned for his release immediately. Meanwhile, Tahmid’s family claimed that they were always cooperative with police. “We have been cooperating with the investigation officer since the beginning of this ordeal. And we will continue to do so as long as they need us to,” said Hridoy, a family relative of Tahmid’s. He said the family was relieved that Tahmid had gotten out of prison on bail. “We are happy that the situation is starting to become normal again,” he added. Tahmid’s father Fazle Rahim Khan Shahriar was present at the hearing yesterday, but he did not speak with reporters.Go through timeline of Tahmid saga-
