Bangladesh police arrest landlord over cafe terror attack

Dhaka, July 17 (IANS) Bangladesh police have found a house in the capital that was used as a hideout by the attackers who massacred 20 hostages at an upscale cafe on July 1.

The landlord of the house in west Shewrapara area in Dhaka has been arrested on charges of not preserving the necessary documents of his tenants who are believed to be accomplices of the Holey Artisan Bakery attackers.

Landlord Md Nurul Islam was arrested from his residence.

"Police have found handmade grenade, black dresses and some other equipment from the house,” Deputy Police Commissioner Masudur Rahman told bdnews24.com.

Police raided the house on Saturday night.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Deputy Commissioner (Media) Masudur Rahman confirmed the arrest and said Nurul did not collect any necessary documents from his tenants as per the DMP order and even concealed the information.

Hours before the raid, police arrested the acting Pro-Vice Chancellor of North South University Professor M. Gias Uddin Ahsan and two others from Dhaka’s Bashundhara Residential Area for sheltering the cafe attackers.

The two others held are Ahsan’s nephew Alam Chowdhury, and Mahbubur Rahman Tuhin, the building manager.

Several cartons packed with sand and the dresses they left behind in the flat were seized.

Police suspect the cartons were used to keep the grenades used in the attack that killed 20 hostages and two police officers.

Police said a person, suspected to be a member of Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB), had rented the flat in May.

“The man fled on the day of the Gulshan attack. It appears from the information we initially got that some of the Gulshan cafe attackers had come to this house,” Detective Branch Deputy Commissioner Saiful Islam told bdnews24.com.