Relatives, friends and common people paid their tributes to the victims killed in the militant attack at the Holey Artisan Bakery in the capital on Friday night with flowers and lit candles at the  entrance to Road 79, which was barricaded by the police. Braving the rain, a large number of people, including media-persons, arrived at the spot either to pay homage to the victims or to have a loxok at the café where the fearful attack was carried out against unarmed people, resulting in the deaths of 20 hostages. Those who came to pay tribute to the victims expressed their resentment and urged an end to killings in the name of religion. Akku Chowdhury, a freedom fighter, paid his tributes with flowers and told the journalists: “I have nothing to say. What is being done in the name of religion is not desirable. The killings in the name of religion have to be stopped. Only then can we build our sonar Bangla.”
“The young people have to come forward to build up the country in the spirit of the Liberation War,” he added.
Artiste Moniruzzaman said: “I am deeply shocked. I have come to pay respect to the victims. We believe in religion but we are not fanatics. We have to be united against such incidents.”
“We want a country where people from different religions can live together,” he added.
Meanwhile, Ehtesham Huda, a close friend of Ishrat Akhond, who was killed in the incident, came to pay tribute to his friend. He told the media that he had heard about his friend’s brutal killing. “When the terrorists walked into the restaurant, they first saw Ishrat Akhond having dinner with two of her foreign guests. They shot her point blank,” he said. Amidst the tribute, a five-member team of the crime scene unit, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), visited the Bakery at around 12 noon to collect evidence.
Inspector Abul Hasan, a member of the team, told media-persons that a bomb disposal unit of the Detective Branch (DB) also searched the café at the same time.
Meanwhile, the residents of Road 79 of Gulshan-2, where the restaurant is located, faced serious problems entering or exiting their buildings as they had to undergo police checks.
Atiar Rahman, a resident of Building 18 on the road, was coming home in his private car when he was stopped by the police outside the barricade.
When he confirmed to the law enforcement personnel that he was a resident of the area, he was allowed to go inside, but only after his car was searched thoroughly by the policemen on duty. He told media-persons: “I’m a resident here. Now I need permission to enter. It’s a bit irritating.” A grim situation had been prevailing in the area, which was vibrant with people only two days ago.