BNP demands speedy trial of Holey Artisan attack case

BNP Vice Chairman Ruhul Alam Chowdhury has demanded a speedy trial of the Holey Artisan Bakery terror attack case—and exemplary punishment for the culprits. 

He made the demand after placing a floral wreath for the victims of the tragic incident at the former site of the café in Gulshan on Sunday. 

“Two years have passed since the heinous incident but the investigation is yet to be finished,” he said. 

He called for a proper investigation into the case.

On July 1, 2016, five terrorists carried out the attack on Holey Artisan Bakery. They killed 20 hostages, mostly foreigners, and shot dead two police officers. Bangladesh Army commandos stormed the restaurant the next morning, killed the terrorists, and rescued the remaining hostages.

A case was filed with Gulshan police station on July 4 that year and the police Counter-Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit took charge of the investigation.

Police haveidentified 21 people involved in the Holey Artisan attack, involved in its planning, preparation and execution. Of them, 13, including the attackers, were killed in action.

The BNP leader said politics has nothing to do with the case. 

“We hope what happened will actually  be unearthed and the perpetrators will be punished.”

He said the Holey Artisan attack was an intelligence failure. 

However, the BNP leader lauded law enforcers and intelligence officials for a handful of successful activities in the aftermath of the attack. 

“We hope they will continue to succeed in curbing militancy in the future.” 

Replying to a query, Ruhul, a former army official, said the state mechanism has not made any visible progress in terms of curbing militancy, but they do not know what is happening inside.  

The job of the intelligence is to gather and provide information while other agencies pinpoint threats and take measures to contain them, he said. 

Ruhul said had the investigation into the murder case of Italian citizen, Cesare Tavella, been conducted properly, and the real perpetrators punished, the Holey Artisan attack would not have happened.