The wife of a Bangladeshi-British university teacher suspected of being one of the masterminds of the deadly Dhaka cafe terror attack that claimed 22 lives has said that her husband was used as "human shield" by terrorists.
"When the attackers found that Hasnat was in the Holey Artisan Bakery with his family, they chose him to do different tasks as the attackers knew Hasnat would not abandon his family in any situation, said Sharmina Parveen, wife of Gulshan terror attack suspect Hasnat Reza Karim, in a statement yesterday.
47-year-old Karim, now in remand, was used by the attackers as a human shield, Parveen was quoted as saying by the Dhaka Tribune.
Parveen, who went to the Spanish cafe with Hasnat and two children, also said that they would continue to cooperate with the police in their investigation to speed up his release.
She said that they had gone to the restaurant that evening to celebrate their daughter's 13th birthday.
"Once the attackers found out that we were Hasnat's family, they took advantage of it. They knew he will not abandon us. That is why they chose him to carry out several tasks during the night. That is why they used him as a human shield," she said.
Five gunmen, mostly in their 20s, seized the upscale Gulshan cafe on July 1 and shot and slaughtered 22 hostages, including an Indian girl.
Parveen claimed that they were held at gunpoint while Hasnat was forced to follow commands from the attackers throughout the night.
"They threatened us with life. They made him give them his ID and mobile phone, and then used it to access the Internet," she said.
Detectives interrogated Hasnat, his family and other survivors after they were released minutes before the commando operation on July 2. Even though others were released, Hasnat and another survivor - Tahmid Hasib Khan - were kept in custody at least for a week, according to police.
But the families claimed that they had no contact with the duo until the law enforcers arrested them on August 3. They were put on eight-day remand the following day. In the remand petition, police mentioned Hasnat as an active member of banned militant outfit Hizb ut-Tahrir and Tahmid as his associate.
Police also claimed that Hasnat had influenced the attackers to carry out the atrocities. He also downloaded a secured private messenger only 13 minutes after the attack was launched. The militants used the app to communicate with their seniors and send photos and videos of the attack.
The detectives said they will conduct a forensic test of the mobile. They are also assessing the relaxed movement of the duo inside and on the roof of the cafe and Tahmid holding a gun during the hostage crisis, as seen in some photos and videos of the attack.
In the statement, Parveen brushed aside rumours that Hasnat had been fired from North South University for militant connection as completely false.
