Dead chef among six accused in Dhaka cafe attack case

Dhaka: Bangladesh Police have accused six persons, including slain Holey Artisan Bakery chef Saiful Islam Chowkider, in a terrorist attack on a cafe in Dhaka.

The five others accused in the case are Meer Saameh Mubasheer, 19, Rohan Ibne Imtiaz, 20, Nibras Islam, 20, Khairul Islam Payel, 22, and Shafiqul Islam Ujjal, 26, bdnews24.com reported.

After getting the First Information Report (FIR) on Wednesday, Metropolitan Magistrate Snigdha Rani Chakrabarty ordered the police to submit the investigation report by Aug 24.

Gulshan Police Station Inspector Md Salauddin Mia had said on Monday that five had been named and many unidentified persons had also been accused in the case.

On Tuesday, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan also said five had been accused.

But the FIR submitted to the court on Wednesday showed six names, with Mubasheer’s being the first on the list of accused and Saiful’s the sixth.

Though Middle East-based Islamic State has reportedly claimed credit for the attack that left at least 22 killed, plaintiff SI Ripon Kumar Das has named banned militant outfit Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and other organisations affiliated to the JMB.

On Friday evening, a group of gunmen attacked the cafe in Banladesh capital Dhaka’s diplomatic district Gulshan, killing 22 people including two police officers and twenty hostages, 17 of whom were foreigners.

Police published photos of the five dead gunmen on Saturday night, after the police chief said his force had been looking for them for some time.

Of five photos, one was found to be that of pizza-maker, Saiful.