Holey Artisan trial begins two and a half years since incident

Today marks three years since the militant attack on Holey Artisan Bakery on road 79, Gulshan in the capital city. On 1 July 2016, members of an IS-backed militant group stormed into the restaurant and killed 22 persons there, hacking and shooting them to death. The entire country was gripped in panic. The situation is under control now. Two and a half years after the incident, the charge sheet of the case was submitted and the trial has begun.

So far 60 persons have given their testimony as witnesses during 27 working days of the special anti-terrorism tribunal. The witnesses appearing in court include police members who tackled the situation from the outset, the employees who had hid in the bathroom of Holey Artisan throughout the night, Sharmeen Parveen who had been held hostage and also those who had unwittingly rented their premises to the mutants who had posed as university students.

It has been learnt that there had been an exchange of fire between the militants inside Holey Artisan Bakery and the police members outside at the beginning of the incident. Two members of the police, Banani police station’s officer in charge (OC) Salahuddin and senior assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police Detective Branch (DB) Rabiul Karim, were killed.

However, on 18 June this year, constable of the Armed Police Battalion, Md Badsha, told the court that in the early morning when the commandos began their operation, he militants opened fire at the law enforcers for the last time. It was not known at the time if any of the militants were injured before the operation began on 2 July morning. On 21 May this year, Bhatara police station sub inspector Faruk Hossain told the court that Nibras Islam was injured in police fire in the night.
On 27 May, restaurant employee Didar Hossain told the court that they were almost suffocating to death in the bathroom. The militants pulled them out in the morning and made them stand up in front of the dead bodies strewn all over.

Munna Dewan informed the court that Holey Artisan chef Saiful Chowkidar and his assistant Shawon were his colleagues, employees of the restaurant, not militants. After the end of the killing and the hostage situation, at a press briefing in the army headquarters it was said that one suspect had been arrested alive. It was suspected that this was actually Shawon who had been injured with a splinter and was undergoing treatment at hospital. Saiful Chowkidar’s dead body had been lying in front of the militants. Munna Dewan had injured his leg when jumping from the roof, but he still went to see Shawon at hospital.

Discrepancies in the list
Faruk Ahmad is the legal counsel in this case for Rakibul Islam Regan, Aslam Hossain alias Rashed alias Rash and Shariful Islam Khaled. He repeatedly wants to drive the point home that the deaths inside Holey Artisan were caused by police fire from outside. In court, he also pointed to at last three other discrepancies.
The case was filed with Gulshan police station by the police station’s sub inspector Ripon Kumar Das. He was the first witness in the case too. Investigating officer Humayun Kabir pointed to mistakes in the evidence list presented in the charge sheet. The list included 5 9mm pistols, but there were actually 2 pistols of 7.62 calibre. There other was of 9 mm caliber and one of the pistol had no hammer. And of the 28 bullets, two had marks on the back. And the AK-22 bore rifle was listed as AK-22 machine gun. It was said that there were live bullets of the AK-22. The defendants’ lawyer said there can be no scope to change the list now.
It was also said that the investigating officer took written testimony from the witnesses, but so far none of the witnesses have given their testimony in writing other than one or two. Other discrepancies were also pointed out.

Head of the police’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit Munirul Islam told Prothom Alo, the Holey Artisan investigations were complex. One clue led to another. In this case, the main accused ere all killed. The charge sheet was drawn up based on the confessions of those who had been arrested and documents which they provided. He says that personally he was not happy with the charge sheet. It would have been better if the accused were alive.
Police submitted the charge sheet in court on 23 July last year. There were 21 persons evidently involved in the incident, 5 who had been killed on the spot. Eight more were killed in operations carried out by the law enforcement later. And 75 clues were found at the spot of the incident. There are 211 witnesses in this case and 149 of them are eye witnesses.

Speaking to Prothom Alo last night, law minister Anisul Huq said the trial of the Holey Artisan case has begun as soon as possible, in keeping with all legal regulations. The government has taken this case very seriously. Prime minister Sheikh Hasina has declared zero tolerance towards corruption and militancy. In that sense, this case is extremely important to the government.