Noida/Firozabad: Bereaved family members of 19-year-old Tarishi Jain, mourned her death after she was killed, as she was taken hostage by the gunmen in an upscale cafe Holey Artisan in Dhaka`s diplomatic zone last evening.Twenty people including
Twenty people including Tarishi were killed with sharp weapons by the gunmen after taking the diners hostage. Sirish Jain, Tarishi`s cousin condemned the attack saying that it was a senseless act and said that he had received the news of the tragedy from the media.
"You can understand that this is a rough time as we have lost our child. It`s a senseless act. What`s happening? Of course you hear such stories happening around the world but this menace is coming and hitting us directly and our family getting affected is something that one can never imaging in the wildest of their dreams," he told ANI.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj confirmed that 19-year-old Indian, Tarishi was killed during the attack."Tarishi was 19 years old. She passed out from American School Dhaka. Presently, she was a student at Berkeley," Swaraj tweeted.
Jain said that that he along with other relatives are trying to reach Dhaka as early as possible. "We want to reach Dhaka at the earliest. There is no one over there except Tarishi`s mother and father. The External Affairs Ministry is quite helpful. They are arranging our visas. So we are trying to reach Dhaka as early as possible," Sirish said.
Remembering Tarishi, he added that she went to study in America only last year for her bachelor`s degree and was home for her summer vacations when the tragedy struck. He further said that his family is in touch with the Ministry of External Affairs and they are supporting them in every possible way.
Meanwhile, Tarishi`s family members in Firozabad city, who are still battling with the tragedy, have requested the Indian government to bring her body back to India. "We are trying to get information about her since we heard about attack as she had gone for dinner with her friends at that restaurant.
The Government has spoken to Tarishi`s father in Dhaka," Annie Jain, Tarishi`s relative said.Tarishi`s relatives informed that her parents had settled in Dhaka for the past many years and her father has a small business there.
Apart from Tarishi, other deceased include eight Italians, some Japanese, South Koreans and some Bangladeshi nations. The 12-hour-long hostage crisis at the cafe popular with foreigners ended after a two hour long assault by armed forces` commandos killing six gunmen this morning.
One assailant has been held by the security forces.Following the hostage crises Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina reiterated her vow to stop militancy and terrorism in the country and reassured the citizens that her government will do everything to curb militancy and violent extremism in the country.
She is scheduled to address the nation this evening.Though it was reported that the Islamic State claimed responsibility on the attack, the US State Department has said it cannot yet be confirmed.The Islamic State has claimed a number of past attacks in Bangladesh through its media affiliates, but the government has consistently denied presence of the militant in the country.
