British-Bangladeshi teacher walks out of jail after acquittal in Dhaka cafe attack

A former British-Bangladeshi teacher today walked out of jail following his acquittal in the 2016 Dhaka cafe attack case nearly two years after his arrest in the brazen terror assault in which 22 people, including an Indian girl, were killed.

Former North South University teacher Hasnat Rezaul Karim and his family were at the Holey Artisan Cafe and Bakery on July 1, 2016 when five militants with assault rifles and machetes stormed the popular cafe in the capital's posh Gulshan neighbourhood.

Hasnat, a 49-year-old British national of Bangladeshi origin, was among the several other diners released by the terrorists in the early morning of July 2 before the army stormed it.

Hasnat, though apparently a hostage during the attack, had been kept under close watch since the day.

Police detained him in August 2016 under Section 54 of the Code of Criminal Procedure, which allows making arrest without a warrant.

One of the five attackers killed in the raid to free the hostages was also found to be a student of North South University.

However, investigators found no evidence against Hasnat and his name had been left off the charge sheet, the bdnews reported.

An anti-terrorism tribunal in Dhaka yesterday issued arrest warrants for two fugitives after accepting the charges