Anti-Terrorism Special Tribunal of Dhaka framed charges against eight militants on Monday in a case filed over the attack on Gulshan’s Holey Artisan Bakery two years ago.
Judge of the special tribunal Md Mujibur Rahman indicted the suspects and read out the charges to them. Then the court fixed December 3 as the first day for testimony, reports bdnews24.com.
Among the eight accused, six were brought to the court for the indictment on Monday and they pleaded not guilty and demanded justice.
They are: Jahangir Alam alias Rajib Gandhi, Rakibul Hasan Regan, Rashedul Islam alias Rash, Sohel Mahfuz, Mizanur Rahman alias Baro Mizan and Hadisur Rahman Sagar.
Two suspects, Shahidul Islam Khaled and Mamunur Rashid Ripon, are still at large. The tribunal issued arrest warrants against the two fugitives.
On the night of July 1 in 2016, a group of five militants entered the Holey Artisan Bakery restaurant in Gulshan and killed 20 people, including 17 foreign nationals.
On July 23, over two years after the attack, Police Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit Inspector Humayun Kabir identified 21 suspects connected to the attack and submitted charges against the eight living suspects.
According to bdnews24.com, the 13 others accused in the case were killed during various security force operations and were recommended to be dropped from the case.