Gulshan terror attack

Missing youths turned out to be the attackers

Three of the five purported attackers who wreaked havoc in the Holey Artisan Bakery on Friday night had gone missing just a few months ago. Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Rohan Imtiaz and Nibras Islam were identified by friends, former classmates and acquaintances with the help of social media after the SITE Intelligence Group published photos of the five gunmen. According to ISIS claims, these militants took part in the attack on the restaurant. The Independent learned that some of the family members of these attackers had informed law enforcement agencies about their mysterious disappearances and filed reports with the police. The identities of the two other attackers, however, have not been confirmed yet. All these attackers were  aged between 18 and 27 years, and came from well-to-do families and English-medium backgrounds.
One of the purported attackers, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, went missing on February 29 this year. He was a student of Scholastica—one of the top English medium schools in the capital.
He was taken to a coaching centre in Gulshan area by a car around 3pm on that day. Later, when the driver went to the centre to pick him up at around 6pm, he was not there. Since then, his family has been in the dark about his whereabouts.
Mubasheer’s father told The Independent that he immediately informed the police after his son went missing. “I reported my son's disappearance on the very first day to the police,” he said.
He said that even five days before the attack on the Holey Bakery, he had talked with cops about his missing son.
He said no law enforcement official had suspected that his son was involved with a militant organisation.
He said that Mubasheer was a very quiet boy in school. “After the completion of the ‘O’ level, he had a study gap. He was not a good student and a slow learner. He was supposed to sit for his ‘A’ level exams in May this year," he added.
"After he went missing, we were waiting to receive a phone call from him. I personally e-mailed him numerous times, asking him to call us. Days have passed, but without any call or e-mail from him," he said.
Mubasheer's father even published a "missing" ad in newspapers on the suggestions of some of their relatives. “At one point, we even started to suspect whether he had gone on to join some militant group,” he admitted.
He said that Mubasheer always kept to himself and did not talk much or share his emotions with others. “He also used to say his prayers regularly. Some of my relatives told me that he might have gone missing and joined some militant groups as such outfits target boys like him,” he added.
His said Mubasheer was only 18 years old and had not developed his own judgement of the real world. “It is possible he was brainwashed. They might have told my boy something which might have influenced him to take the path of militancy,” he added.
“Bringing up children is hard these days. I and my wife used to take care of him. We used to monitor his friends and his activities. I don’t know how it was possible for him to mix with those people,” he lamented.
Rohan Imtiaz also went missing in March this year. The Independent tried to talk with Rohan’s parents, but they refused.
One of Rohan’s aunts, however, was available for comment. “After my nephew went missing, we went to report his disappearance to the police and RAB. We filed a general diary (GD) with Mohammadpur Police Station, but no law enforcers paid heed to our request to trace the boy," she said. The family even went to the office of the home minister to urge him to find out their son’s whereabouts, she added.
Rohan, too, was a student of Scholastica.
Nibras Islam went missing from Uttara on February 3. He studied in Turkish Hope School and then in North South University, a top private university in Dhaka. From there, he went to pursue higher studies at Monash University’s Malaysia campus.
Some of his friends posted on his Facebook wall that his family was very worried and asked him to come back to home. From his Facebook wall, it was found that he loved to play football and listen to music. He ‘checked in’ at many restaurants and posted pictures with his friends.
Apart from the Facebook account, Nibras also maintained a Twitter account, in which he posted last on December 1, 2014.
Some of his social media posts indicated that Nibras may have been hurt by an affair that didn’t work out. However, it could not be known whether that incident was a reason behind his conversion towards militancy.
Meanwhile, the police headquarters on Saturday night released the names of the five attackers as Akash, Bikash, Don, Badhon and Ripon, with photographs of their dead bodies. They, however, did not reveal any details about them.
The Independent talked with some law enforcement personnel about the identities of the three attackers revealed through their friends and other acquaintances in social media.
Mahbubul Alam, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told The Independent that the identities revealed in the social media were correct.
When asked why the police had mentioned some other names in connection with photographs of the dead militants, Alam said the police at first suspected those attackers to be Akash, Bikash, Don, Badhon and Ripon, since they had information that they were militants involved with some of the recent militant attacks.
Sub-inspector Abu Taher, duty officer of Gulshan police station, said the authorities are yet to finish the autopsies on the bodies of the victims in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack. He also said that no case has been filed at any police station yet over the incident.
When asked about the ISIS claims regarding the attack, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, however, said the IS was not involved in Friday’s attack. He said that it was carried out by home-grown Bangladeshi militant outfits.
“Even though these home-grown militants have no connections with the IS, it is true that they are trying establish relations with international militant organisations”, he said.
In line with the home minister, AKM Shahidul Haque, inspector general of police (IGP), also claimed that the Gulshan attackers were members of the banned Islamist outfit Jama'at ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB).
The IGP said this after visiting two injured police constables and a micro-bus driver at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. "All of them were listed JMB members," the police chief said.
Replying to a question, Haque said the police had no advance information about the attack. "The attackers whose images were published were involved in militant activities. They were identified. Police are working to dig out more information," he added.
Two teams of CID investigators and detectives yesterday visited the crime scene to unearth more information about the whole incident. A five-member team of the crime scene unit, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), went to the Holey Artisan Bakery to collect evidence, said Abul Hasan, a member of the team. A bomb disposal unit of the Detective Branch (DB) went to the restaurant premises at the same time, he added.
It is known that different law enforcement agencies have collected evidence from the crime scene. They have also collected CCTV footage from the nearby buildings to find out more information about the attacks and the identities of the attackers.

 

Gulshan terror attack

Missing youths turned out to be the attackers

Three of the five purported attackers who wreaked havoc in the Holey Artisan Bakery on Friday night had gone missing just a few months ago. Meer Saameh Mubasheer, Rohan Imtiaz and Nibras Islam were identified by friends, former classmates and acquaintances with the help of social media after the SITE Intelligence Group published photos of the five gunmen. According to ISIS claims, these militants took part in the attack on the restaurant. The Independent learned that some of the family members of these attackers had informed law enforcement agencies about their mysterious disappearances and filed reports with the police. The identities of the two other attackers, however, have not been confirmed yet. All these attackers were aged between 18 and 27 years, and came from well-to-do families and English-medium backgrounds. One of the purported attackers, Meer Saameh Mubasheer, went missing on February 29 this year. He was a student of Scholasticaone of the top English medium schools in the capital. He was taken to a coaching centre in Gulshan area by a car around 3pm on that day. Later, when the driver went to the centre to pick him up at around 6pm, he was not there. Since then, his family has been in the dark about his whereabouts. Mubasheers father told The Independent that he immediately informed the police after his son went missing. I reported my sons disappearance on the very first day to the police, he said. He said that even five days before the attack on the Holey Bakery, he had talked with cops about his missing son. He said no law enforcement official had suspected that his son was involved with a militant organisation. He said that Mubasheer was a very quiet boy in school. After the completion of the O level, he had a study gap. He was not a good student and a slow learner. He was supposed to sit for his A level exams in May this year, he added. After he went missing, we were waiting to receive a phone call from him. I personally e-mailed him numerous times, asking him to call us. Days have passed, but without any call or e-mail from him, he said. Mubasheers father even published a missing ad in newspapers on the suggestions of some of their relatives. At one point, we even started to suspect whether he had gone on to join some militant group, he admitted. He said that Mubasheer always kept to himself and did not talk much or share his emotions with others. He also used to say his prayers regularly. Some of my relatives told me that he might have gone missing and joined some militant groups as such outfits target boys like him, he added. His said Mubasheer was only 18 years old and had not developed his own judgement of the real world. It is possible he was brainwashed. They might have told my boy something which might have influenced him to take the path of militancy, he added. Bringing up children is hard these days. I and my wife used to take care of him. We used to monitor his friends and his activities. I dont know how it was possible for him to mix with those people, he lamented. Rohan Imtiaz also went missing in March this year. The Independent tried to talk with Rohans parents, but they refused. One of Rohans aunts, however, was available for comment. After my nephew went missing, we went to report his disappearance to the police and RAB. We filed a general diary (GD) with Mohammadpur Police Station, but no law enforcers paid heed to our request to trace the boy, she said. The family even went to the office of the home minister to urge him to find out their sons whereabouts, she added. Rohan, too, was a student of Scholastica. Nibras Islam went missing from Uttara on February 3. He studied in Turkish Hope School and then in North South University, a top private university in Dhaka. From there, he went to pursue higher studies at Monash Universitys Malaysia campus. Some of his friends posted on his Facebook wall that his family was very worried and asked him to come back to home. From his Facebook wall, it was found that he loved to play football and listen to music. He checked in at many restaurants and posted pictures with his friends. Apart from the Facebook account, Nibras also maintained a Twitter account, in which he posted last on December 1, 2014. Some of his social media posts indicated that Nibras may have been hurt by an affair that didnt work out. However, it could not be known whether that incident was a reason behind his conversion towards militancy. Meanwhile, the police headquarters on Saturday night released the names of the five attackers as Akash, Bikash, Don, Badhon and Ripon, with photographs of their dead bodies. They, however, did not reveal any details about them. The Independent talked with some law enforcement personnel about the identities of the three attackers revealed through their friends and other acquaintances in social media. Mahbubul Alam, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP), told The Independent that the identities revealed in the social media were correct. When asked why the police had mentioned some other names in connection with photographs of the dead militants, Alam said the police at first suspected those attackers to be Akash, Bikash, Don, Badhon and Ripon, since they had information that they were militants involved with some of the recent militant attacks. Sub-inspector Abu Taher, duty officer of Gulshan police station, said the authorities are yet to finish the autopsies on the bodies of the victims in the Holey Artisan Bakery attack. He also said that no case has been filed at any police station yet over the incident. When asked about the ISIS claims regarding the attack, Home Minister Asaduzzaman Khan, however, said the IS was not involved in Fridays attack. He said that it was carried out by home-grown Bangladeshi militant outfits. Even though these home-grown militants have no connections with the IS, it is true that they are trying establish relations with international militant organisations, he said. In line with the home minister, AKM Shahidul Haque, inspector general of police (IGP), also claimed that the Gulshan attackers were members of the banned Islamist outfit Jamaat ul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). The IGP said this after visiting two injured police constables and a micro-bus driver at Dhaka Medical College Hospital. All of them were listed JMB members, the police chief said. Replying to a question, Haque said the police had no advance information about the attack. The attackers whose images were published were involved in militant activities. They were identified. Police are working to dig out more information, he added. Two teams of CID investigators and detectives yesterday visited the crime scene to unearth more information about the whole incident. A five-member team of the crime scene unit, Criminal Investigation Department (CID), went to the Holey Artisan Bakery to collect evidence, said Abul Hasan, a member of the team. A bomb disposal unit of the Detective Branch (DB) went to the restaurant premises at the same time, he added. It is known that different law enforcement agencies have collected evidence from the crime scene. They have also collected CCTV footage from the nearby buildings to find out more information about the attacks and the identities of the attackers.