IDs of five militants, chef confirmed thru' DNA tests

Identities of the five Gulshan attackers and a Holey Artisan chef have been confirmed through DNA tests.

However, the handover of the bodies to the families might take time as it requires the government's nod, according to officials.

Mentioning that the July 1 Gulshan café attack was an unusual incident in the country, police said the investigation officers might need further tests.   

In the tests at the CID forensic lab, DNA samples collected from the bodies matched up with samples collected  from parents, Masudur Rahman, deputy commissioner (media) of DMP, said yesterday.

Police received the results on Monday.

The families, after the café siege ended on the morning of July 2, identified the six as their sons from photographs in the media.

Replying to a query, Masudur Rahman said no family member has yet applied to the police for the bodies.

Apart from the DNA tests, the counterterrorism unit of DMP sent hair and blood samples to the FBI to ascertain whether the militants were under the influence of drugs.

On the night of July 1, the five militants stormed the Holey Artisan Bakery, an upscale eatery in Gulshan's diplomatic zone, and killed 20 hostages, including 17 foreigners.  

They next morning, the militants were killed in a commando operation launched to end the bloody siege. They have been identified as Nibras Islam, Rohan Imtiaz and Meer Saameh Mubasheer of Dhaka and Khairul Islam Payel and Shafiqul Islam Uzzal of Bogra.

Saiful Islam, the Holey Artisan chef, was also found dead alongside the gunmen.

Though police suspected Saiful was an associate of the militants, his family all along has been saying he was never involved in militancy. 

The six bodies are still kept at the Combined Military Hospital, Dhaka.

Police have also collected DNA samples from the bodies of nine militants killed in a special anti-terror operation in Kalyanpur on July 26. 

The bodies are still in the mortuary at Dhaka Medical College. 

Eight of them were identified after their fingerprints matched up with those stored in the Election Commission database. To confirm the identities scientifically, police collected DNA samples from seven families.

The sample from the family of the eighth militant will be collected soon while the ninth body remains unidentified.