Charges framed against 8 in Gulshan attack case

A Dhaka court has framed charges against eight people for the militant attack on Holey Artisan bakery at Gulshan in the capital.

Judge Mojibur Rahman of the Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal of Dhaka on Monday passed the order.

Earlier on August 8, the tribunal accepted the charge sheet against them in the case and also issued arrest warrants against Shahidul Islam Khaled and Mamunur Rashid Ripon as they are on run.

On July 23, Humayun Kabir, Inspector of Counter Terrorism Unit of Police, produced the charge sheet before the court accusing eight of them.   

Of them, six are in jail. They are Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, Rakibul Hasan Regan, Rashedul Islam, Sohel Mahfuz, Mizanur Rahman alias Boro Mizan and Hadisur Rahman Sagor.

In the Holey Artisan attack, five armed terrorists barged into the upscale Gulshan eatery and killed 20 hostages including 17 foreign nationals on the night of July 1, 2016. They also shot dead two police officers.

A total of 21 militants belonging to the group that law enforcement calls New Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (New JMB) were found to have been involved in the planning and execution of the deadliest militant attack in the country’s history, according to the charge sheet.

Five of these suspects were killed during the counter operation in the attack, while the other eight died during subsequent anti-militant drives across the country.