Cops hand over Holey Artisan plot to owner

Police yesterday handed over the plot of Holey Artisan Bakery at Gulshan to its owner, Samira Ahmed, following a court order. Samira Ahmed, the heir to the property’s original owner, Dr Suraiya Zabin, had petitioned the court for the return of her property after the police locked the Holey Artisan Bakery and its premises following the July 1 action by law enforcement personnel to clear it of Neo-JMB militants. The terrorists had taken 20 people, including 17 foreigners, hostage and killed them before the security forces took control of the Gulshan café. Six militants were also killed in the operation. Plot No. 5 at Road No. 79 at Gulshan-I was allotted to Dr Suraiya Zabin in 1979 to set up her clinic beside Gulshan Lake in 1982 on a corner of the plot. After her death, Sadat Mehedi, the husband of one of her two daughters, Samira Ahmed, set up the Holey Artisan Bakery in June 2014 on a corner of the plot. It soon became popular with the expatriates living in Gulshan.
Mehedi and his friend Nasimul Alam Porag, the owners of the restaurant, also set up a Pizza Hut outlet and an ice cream parlour. During the operation by security forces, which used an armoured personnel carrier, much of the restaurant was damaged. Following the clearance operations, the police took control of the premises with the aim to (what they said) preserve the evidence and investigate the case filed in connection with the militants’ raid. But the restaurant there came into the limelight after the operation as the owners of the plot were said to have violated the conditions for the lease of the plot from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakhkha (RAJUK), which prompted the public works department (PWD) minister, engineer Mosharaf Hossain, to comment that the restaurant had been illegally set up on the plot. He also said they would look into the matter. RAJUK then sent a notice to its owners, which was hung on the property entrance as the owner was not available when the RAJUK server went to deliver it. Samira Ahmed went to court against the RAJUK move and was awarded the verdict. Accordingly, the police had to hand over the property to her yesterday. Commenting on the situation, RAJUK chairman Bazlul Karim Choudhury told reporters yesterday that he had just learnt about it. He said RAJUK has sent its officials to enquire about it, and the next course of action would be decided later.

Cops hand over Holey Artisan plot to owner

Police yesterday handed over the plot of Holey Artisan Bakery at Gulshan to its owner, Samira Ahmed, following a court order. Samira Ahmed, the heir to the propertys original owner, Dr Suraiya Zabin, had petitioned the court for the return of her property after the police locked the Holey Artisan Bakery and its premises following the July 1 action by law enforcement personnel to clear it of Neo-JMB militants. The terrorists had taken 20 people, including 17 foreigners, hostage and killed them before the security forces took control of the Gulshan caf. Six militants were also killed in the operation. Plot No. 5 at Road No. 79 at Gulshan-I was allotted to Dr Suraiya Zabin in 1979 to set up her clinic beside Gulshan Lake in 1982 on a corner of the plot. After her death, Sadat Mehedi, the husband of one of her two daughters, Samira Ahmed, set up the Holey Artisan Bakery in June 2014 on a corner of the plot. It soon became popular with the expatriates living in Gulshan. Mehedi and his friend Nasimul Alam Porag, the owners of the restaurant, also set up a Pizza Hut outlet and an ice cream parlour. During the operation by security forces, which used an armoured personnel carrier, much of the restaurant was damaged. Following the clearance operations, the police took control of the premises with the aim to (what they said) preserve the evidence and investigate the case filed in connection with the militants raid. But the restaurant there came into the limelight after the operation as the owners of the plot were said to have violated the conditions for the lease of the plot from Rajdhani Unnayan Kartripakhkha (RAJUK), which prompted the public works department (PWD) minister, engineer Mosharaf Hossain, to comment that the restaurant had been illegally set up on the plot. He also said they would look into the matter. RAJUK then sent a notice to its owners, which was hung on the property entrance as the owner was not available when the RAJUK server went to deliver it. Samira Ahmed went to court against the RAJUK move and was awarded the verdict. Accordingly, the police had to hand over the property to her yesterday. Commenting on the situation, RAJUK chairman Bazlul Karim Choudhury told reporters yesterday that he had just learnt about it. He said RAJUK has sent its officials to enquire about it, and the next course of action would be decided later.