Bangladesh on Saturday (July 1) paid tribute to the victims of the tragic 2016 militant attack on Holey Artisan Bakery in Gulshan of the capital, the deadliest night of terror in the country's history that saw 22 civilians killed.
On the evening of July 1, a little after 9pm, the militants made their move and laid siege to the upmarket cafe popular with expatriates – a calculated choice that paid off with maximum foreign casualties.
Initially, they took everyone inside the cafe hostage before executing them based on nationality or religion. Some Bangladeshis were allowed to leave – one bravely refused to leave without his two foreign friends and died with them.
The victims included nine Italians, seven Japanese, one Indian, one Bangladesh-born American and two Bangladeshis.
Besides, two police officers called to the scene were also killed by grenades during the first wave of the attack – this demonstrated how well-armed they were, and law enforcers subsequently backed off to wait for specialist commandos to come in and do the job, causing a nightlong standoff.
Thirteen people, including three foreigners, were rescued while 20 bodies of the hostages were recovered from the restaurant after a successful operation led by the 1st Para-commando Battalion, an elite force in the Bangladesh Army, the following morning (July 2).
Five militants and one restaurant staff were killed and one suspected militant was arrested during the drive.
Including the militants and two policemen, the total death toll was 29 from what is definitively described as "Bangladesh's 9/11".
A case was filed with Gulshan Police Station in connection with what still stands as the deadliest terror attack ever in the country.
Later, the case was transferred to the Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police.
Twenty-one people were identified behind the attack. Among them, 13 people were killed in gunfights at different times.
Police pressed charges against eight people in the case on July 23, 2018. The tribunal framed charges against them on November 26.
On November 27, 2019, an Anti-Terrorism Tribunal sentenced seven New JMB militants to death. It exonerated one accused in the case.
The seven death-row JMB militants are Md Aslam Hossain alias Rashed alias Ryash, Jahangir Hossain alias Rajib Gandhi, Abdus Sabur Khan alias Sohel Mahfuz, Hadisur Rahman Sagor, Rakibul Islam Regan, Shariful Islam Khaled, and Mamunur Rashid Ripon.
The court also fined Tk50,000 each.
BDST: 1417 HRS, JULY 01, 2023
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