On the first day of the interrogation of former university teacher Hasnat Karim and Canadian university student Tahmid Hasib the police wanted to know if that had any connections with the Holey Artisan Bakery attackers or those killed in their hideout in Dhaka's Kalyanpur.
The detectives took the duo under custody for interrogation as suspects soon after the incident and a court granted them an eight-day remand for questioning.
A senior official of the Detective Branch (DB) of police told the Daily Observer Hasnat, a British citizen, might have had some connection with Nibras Islam and Rohan Imtiaz, who were attackers of Gulshan cafe.
Hasnat had met Tajul ul Islam Rasiq twice, said Rabiul Islam, father of Rasiq, to police. Rasiq was killed when police busted a hideout in Kalyanpur. Hasnat is yet to confess to meeting Rasiq.
Hasnat Karim and Tahmid Hasib were witnesses to the bloody carnage inside the café. The whereabouts of the duo, who came out of Holey Artisan alive, were unclear since they were picked up by lawmen for quizzing in the aftermath of the Gulshan café attack on July 1.
Hasnat was relieved from his teaching job at NSU in 2012 on allegations of involvement with banned group Hizb-ut Tahrir. One of the Gulshan cafe killers, Nibras Islam also studied at NSU. The NSU probe committee also found Hasnat was involved with Hizb-ut Tahrir activities. Hasnat also invited the US born Rasiq to the Hizb-ut Tahrir, sources said.
Shehzad Rouf Arka alias Morocco and Akifuzzaman Akif were killed when police busted a militant hideout in Kalyanpur. Arka and Akif were also involved with Hizb-ut Tahrir. They also know Hasnat.
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 in the morning when army commandos stormed the restaurant, which was popular among foreigners in Dhaka.
But the attackers had already killed 20 hostages, including 17 foreigners. During the raid, six people, including five attackers were killed. Middle East-based group the Islamic State reportedly claimed responsibility for the attack and released photos of the five attackers.
