Cops hopeful about highest penalty for 8 accused

Police today expressed hope that the eight accused in Holey Artisan attack case verdict will get highest punishment as per gravity of their crimes.

“We in the charge sheet mentioned their specific roles in planning and executing the attack. We tried to prove their crimes with evidence,” Monirul Islam, chief of Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime unit of Dhaka Metropolitan Police, told reporters this afternoon.

“We tried to submit a flawless charge sheet….We are hopeful that we will get the judgement as per our expectation,” he said replying to a query during the briefing at DMP media centre.

Police pressed charges against eight persons out of the 21 “Neo JMB” militants who were involved in the country’s deadliest terror attack on July 1, 2016 that left 22 people including 17 foreigners dead. Two police officers were also killed during the 12-hour standoff.

They eight accused are in jail. They are --Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, recruiter of the café attackers; Rashed alias Rash, one of the planners; Sohel Mahfuz, grenade supplier; arms suppliers Mizanur Rahman alias Boro Mizan and Hadisur Rahman Sagor, Rakibul Islam, a so-called religious trainer; Shahriful Islam Khaled and Mamunur Rashid Ripon.

Five attackers who stormed into the bakery were killed during a commando raid. Besides, eight of their motivators and planners were killed during different raids after the attack.

Replying to another query, Monirul said police have strengthened intelligence network so that accomplices of the accused cannot carry out any act of sabotage centring the verdict or to free the accused.

Police are trying to keep surveillance on the activities of the outfit’s small cells which are still active in the cyber space, he said.