Dr. Mahtab Mahtab Hossain mazed

8 years ago on July 1, the entire country was stunned by the Holy Artisan terrorist attack. One of the worst and worst terrorist attacks in the history of Bangladesh took place at Holy Artisan Bakery. The attack that shocked the world including the entire country. Even before the attack, no one had an idea that such a brutal attack could happen in the holy month of Ramzan in the elite area of Gulshan. Every moment of this incident was seriously broadcasted live in the media of the country and the world.

In this attack, 13 people were rescued alive by the law and order forces, which was well appreciated in the world media. However, this praise was overshadowed by the news of 24 deaths. After the attack, an anti-terrorist operation was conducted across the country on the orders of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. The members of the law and order forces of the country were able to eliminate the terrorists from the country after a long journey.

How the attack is planned

Although the July 1 attack, the militants had already prepared. In March 2016, Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury and Shariful Islam Khaled decided to attack. First it was decided to attack the diplomatic area, then the militants planned to attack where the foreigners are most.

> 5 militants killed in Holy Artizan
For this, 5 militants were given suicide training. Tamim Chowdhury served as the main coordinator of the attack. The Holy Artisan restaurant was renovated several days before the attack. The night of Qadr, the holiest Sabbath of the Muslim Ummah, was chosen for the attack. Militants entered Holy Artisan while opening fire. Two constables and a passer-by were initially injured on the spot.

> How the police get information

Soon after the two constables were injured, the police began to suspect something sinister. The entire restaurant was then surrounded by law enforcement officers. At 10:35 p.m., two grenades were thrown at law enforcement personnel from inside the restaurant. Banani Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Salahuddin and Police Intelligence Branch (DB) AC Rabiul were seriously injured. Later they died while undergoing treatment at Dhaka Medical College HospitalAt around 11:00 PM, Director General of Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) Benazir Ahmed told the media that 'At least 20 foreigners and some Bangladeshis are trapped inside. For the safety of the lives of those inside, we are trying to talk to the misguided attackers.

> Armed forces in action

At 12 o'clock in the night, army, air force and navy commandos came to the spot to participate in the operation along with police, RAB and Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB). The operation was named 'Operation Thunder Bolt'.
The activities of the militants were reported around 1.30 am. The militants killed 20 people including 17 foreign nationals in the night. Among them, nine are Italians, seven are Japanese and one is Indian. The remaining three were Bangladeshis.

> What happened in Operation Thunder Bolt?

The militants were given an opportunity to surrender overnight. But as they persisted in their position, 'Operation Thunder Bolt' was launched on July 2 at 7:40 AM under the command of Army Para Commandos. 5 militants were killed in just 15 minutes operation.

13 people including one Japanese, two Sri Lankans were rescued alive from inside the restaurant after the rescue operation Thunder Bolt. At that time, one person was arrested as a suspected terrorist. 24 people were killed in this 12-hour hostage incident. 17 of them are foreigners.

> Those who were killed

24 people were killed in this attack. Of these, nine Italians, seven Japanese and one Indian were killed in the attack by the militants, who also included a Bangladeshi-US dual citizen, two civilians, two employees of Holi Artisan and two police officers. Besides, five militants were killed. At least 20 policemen were injured in this incident.

As in the judgment stage of the Holy Artisan case

A case was registered at Gulshan police station on July 4, 3 days after the attack. Sub-Inspector of Police Ripon Kumar Das was charged with killing 5 militants and unknown persons. Inspector Humayun Kabir of the counter-terrorism unit of the police was assigned the responsibility of this caseOn July 1, 2018, 21 people including Navaya JMB were accused and chargesheet was given against 8 people alive.

> Accused 7 accused
Out of the 8 surviving accused, 6 are shown arrested. Among the accused, Shariful Islam and Mamunur Rashid were absconding. The formal trial of the case began on November 26, 2018 after the court framed charges against the 8 accused. Then, in 52 working days, the case came to the stage of judgment after witness testimony, defense and arguments of the defendants.

> Who were the accused in the case

New JMB leader, arms and explosives supplier Hadisur Rahman Sagar, Bangladeshi-origin Canadian citizen Tamim Chowdhury's associate Aslam Hossain alias Rashed alias Abu Jarra alias Rash, militant Rakibul Hassan Reagan, Jahangir Alam alias Rajiv alias Rajiv Gandhi, one of the planners of the attack Abdus Sabur Khan (Hasan )alias Sohail, New JMB Arms and Explosives Wing Chief Mizanur Rahman alias Bara Mizan Mahfuz, Mamunur Rashid and Shariful Islam.
> Taking evidence of witnesses

On December 3, 2018, the case began with the testimony of the plaintiff SI Ripon Kumar Das. After almost 1 year in October 2019, the testimony of the Investigating Officer and the interrogation ended. The case was readied for judgment on October 30 with the defense of the defendants and receipt of arguments on the following 5 dates. At that time, out of the 211 witnesses of the charge sheet, the tribunal accepted the testimony of 113 people.

> 27 November the judgment of this case discussed

The court ordered the execution of 7 accused in the case of brutal terrorist attack on Holy Artisan Bakery. Each convict sentenced to death is fined 50 thousand rupees. Among the 8 accused in the charge sheet, the court acquitted one accused named Mizanur Rahman alias Bara Mizan.

Finally, I would like to say that the opponents of Bangladesh have made various attempts to disrupt the development progress of Bangladesh. The attack on Holy Artisan Bakery in Gulshan is a continuation of the atrocities that started with the assassination of Bangabandhu after the independence of the country. There are many unknowns behind this attack which are yet to be revealed to the public. Even after such a huge massacre, the development partners returned to Bangladesh and resumed their development work, the news of how much labor and talent went behind it is still unknown to many. Sheikh Hasina, the daughter of Hon'ble Prime Minister Bangabandhu, has unequivocally announced the 'Zero Tolerance to Terrorism' policy to combat terrorism and militancy. In response to his call, an unprecedented civic unity has been created against militancy regardless of caste-religion-caste-class-profession. After Holi Artizan, the network of militants has been shattered in different places of the country, including Sholakia, Moulvibazar, Sylhet, Jhenaidah, Kushtia, Rajshahi, Chapainawabganj, Comilla, Sitakunda. Bangladesh today is a role model in the world in fighting terrorism. The success of police counter-terrorism and SWAT is praised everywhere in the country and abroad today. This success is not only the police alone - all the peace-loving people of this country, which is led by the Honorable Prime Minister Sheikh HasinaTherefore, we firmly believe that terrorism and militancy can be eradicated from the soil of Bangladesh forever only through the spontaneous support and involvement of the common people.

The writer is a,  columnist and researcher Founder and Chairman, Jatiya Rogi Kallyan Society.