Law enforcers believe that that the former private university teacher Hasnat Karim and Canadian university student Tahmid Hasib were involved in the July 1 attack on Holey Artisan Bakery and Restaurant, where 20 people were murdered.
Hasnat Karim, a former teacher of North South University and UK citizen, and Tahmid Hasib, a student at a university in Toronto, were witnesses to the bloody carnage inside the café. The whereabouts of the duo, who emerged from Holey Artisan alive after the killings, had remained unclear since they were picked up by lawmen for quizzing in the aftermath of the Gulshan café attack.
Their family members claimed that they had remained untraced since then. For their part, the law enforcement agencies stated that the two men had been set free after they were interrogated over the café attack.
A senior official involved in busting a militant hideout in Dhaka's Kalyanpur told The Daily Observer on Thursday that Hasnat Karim had been involved in recruiting militants for an outlawed militant organization in the country.
He was active in recruiting young and educated individuals with the objective of promoting Islamic ideals in Bangladesh.
Shehzad Rouf Arka alias Morocco was killed who when police busted a hideout in Dhaka's Kalyanpur. Shehzad was the son of Tawhid Rouf, an arms businessmen and military supplies trader, and grandson of former National Security Intelligence (NSI) chief Brigadier General Abdur Rouf.
One of the Gulshan cafe killers, Nibras Islam, was a student at NSU. Tahmid, whose father is a businessman, studies at a university in Canada. His family said that he had come to Dhaka a day before the attack and had gone to the cafe to hang out with his friends.
On the night of July 1, Islamist radical gunmen barged into the eatery at Dhaka's upscale neighbourhood and took the guests inside hostage. The hostage drama ended the next morning when army commandos stormed the restaurant, which was popular among foreigners in Dhaka.
But by the time the commandoes struck, the attackers had already killed 20 hostages, including 17 foreigners. During the raid, six people, including five of the attackers, were killed. The Middle East-based group Islamic State reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack, releasing photos of the five attackers.
Law enforcers, however, have insisted that the home-grown militant outfit Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) was behind the Gulshan carnage.
Speaking to AFP after news emerged of the arrest, Karim's father said his son had been used as a human shield during the siege and that he had helped save lives during the siege. "I have full confidence in the police investigation," said Rezaul Karim.
"My son was a hero. He saved the life of at least eight people during the siege. I know him. He is innocent."
Karim's London-based lawyer, Rodney Dixon, said his client had "no links to any terrorist group" and demanded his immediate release.
"The authorities have finally admitted that Karim is in their custody. They have had more than sufficient time to make any inquiries," Dixon said in a statement.
"There is clearly no evidence to charge him and he should be let go without any further delay."
After having remained out of public gaze for over a month, a team of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit of police arrested Abul Hasnat Rezaul Karim, a former North South University teacher and Tahmid Hasib Khan, a Toronto University student from Gulshan and Basundhara residential areas in the city on Wednesday.
After the arrest of the duo, Hasnat and Tahmid, who had reportedly been linked to the militant attack on Holey Artisan Bakery of July 1, were placed on an eight-day remand each on Thursday for questioning.
Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Nurunnahar Yasmin passed the order.
Inspector Humayun Kabir, the Investigation Officer (IO) of this case, and also Inspector of CTTC unit, which is now investigating the grisly militant attack case, produced the duo before the Dhaka Chief Metropolitan Magistrate (CMM) court with a prayer to grant a ten-day remand.
In the forwarding report, the IO said that the accused assisted the militants by being physically present at the restaurant at Gulshan on the day of occurrence.
The militants communicated with others through their (accused) mobile phones.
"The accused Hasnat uploaded new apps which were used by the militants. And for proper investigation of the case and nabbing other involved in the grisly militant attack the accused should be sent to police custody," the IO said in his forwarding report. The General Recording Officer of the case, Ranaf Kumar Bakhta pleaded before the court to allow the remand as per the IO's prayers.
The defence lawyer claimed that they were in police custody for 32 days, they prayed to the court to allow them bail after rejecting the remand prayers.
Earlier on Wednesday night, the CTTC unit nabbed Tahmid from a house at Bashundhara residential area around 8:45pm while Hasnat was picked up from in front of Aarong in Gulshan around 8:30pm.
They have been arrested under Section 54 of Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPc) for their alleged involvement in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack.
Hasnat Karim, also a businessman, and Tahmid Hasib a Canadian resident of Bangladeshi origin, were rescued along with 11 others during the commando operation at the Holey Artisan Bakery on July 2 following a 12-hour hostage standoff.
The Detectives took the duo under custody for interrogation as suspects soon after the incident.
Later, DB claimed that they set them free after preliminary interrogation.
However, their family members claimed that they remained traceless.
