Dhaka cafe 'hostage' Tahmid walks free on bail

Tahmid Hasib Khan, a Gulshan cafe attack 'hostage' arrested as a suspect, has been released on bail.

Dhaka Metropolitan Magistrate Laskar Sohel Rana set Tahmid free on bail on Sunday in a case started under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, allowing police to arrest suspects without warrants.

The son of Aftab Bahumukhi Farms Limited Managing Director Fazle Rahim Khan was released from Dhaka Central Jail around 11pm after the bail order had reached them, Senior Jail Superintendent Jahangir Kabir told bdnews24.com.

Police, however, filed a petition seeking permission to investigate an allegation against Tahmid that he had concealed information.

The court will announce its decision on the petition on Wednesday, Court Police Sub-Inspector Ranap Kumar Bhakta told bdnews24.com.

Former North South University teacher Hasanat Rezaul Karim and Tahmid were among the 13 hostages freed from Holey Artisan Bakery and O' Kitchen early on July 2 following the carnage of the preceding night.

At least 20 hostages, including 17 foreign nationals, and two policemen were murdered by Islamist militants before the rescue raid.

All the freed hostages were taken to the Detective Branch office and released after questioning, police said.

But Tahmid and Hasanat did not return home. Their families alleged that police were holding them in custody.

The duo were arrested from different places on Aug 3. Hasanat was shown arrested in the Gulshan attack case but Tahmid was not charged in the case.

Some of the photos of the attack disseminated on social media show Tahmid carrying a gun in company with Hasanat and Rohan Ibn Imtiaz, one of the attackers killed in the commando operation.

The family said Tahmid, a student of a university in Canada, had returned the day before the attack and had gone to the eatery to have Iftar with his friends.

Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury, the suspected cafe attack mastermind killed in a raid in Narayanganj later, was also from Canada.