Holey Artisan tragedy needs speedy trial
The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit of the police have submitted a charge sheet accusing 21 persons in the brutal militant attack on Holey Artisan Bakery. This has now made it possible for the trial to proceed. Of those named on the charge sheet, five were killed on the spot and eight others in different operations. Of the remaining eight, six are in jail and two are absconding. And North South University teacher Hasnat Karim has been dropped from the charge sheet as there no evidence of his involvement in the incident.
On the fateful night of 1 July 2016, militants stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka’s diplomatic area of Gulshan, killing 22 persons, 17 of whom were foreign nationals, three Bangladeshi and two police officers. One of the three Bangladeshis killed was Faraaz Ayaaz Hossain. The militants were willing to let him go, but he refused to abandon his two friends. The militants then killed him along with the others. Faraaz’s sacrifice remains as a model of humanity.
Police investigations reveal that the motive behind this attack was to kill foreign nationals and thus besmirch Bangladesh’s image abroad. On one hand they would be able to portray Bangladesh as a terrorist state, and on the other hand they would distance international quarters and thus hamper the development of the country. Their efforts have not been successful, but the fact remains that 22 innocent people were brutally killed. This loss will never be filled. The militants claimed to have ties with the international militant group IS, but no evidence of this has surfaced in investigations. Whether or not they had direct involvement with IS, there is certainly an ideological bond which instigated them to carry out this heinous carnage.
While there have been calls from various quarters for a speedy trial of the Holey Artisan case, it took quite some time to come up with an accurate charge sheet. This is plausible. After all, the criminals would be able to slip through any loopholes in the case. The investigators say 75 items of evidence are to be placed in court.
The submission of the charge sheet is the first step towards the trial. The court will then try the accused and sentence them accordingly. It is now important for the law enforcement agencies to catch the absconding two. If they are caught, further vital details of the case will come to light. If these two fugitives are in the country yet cannot be caught, that would be a matter of grave concern. Such militants remain active while in hiding. They may motivate others and also carry out other militant attacks anywhere else.
We hope the next steps of the trial proceed with speed. Those who lost their lives in the militant attack will never return, but if the militants are tried, at least the families of the victims will feel that justice has been done. And punishment of the criminals will shut the door of further such barbaric crimes.