RAB Director General (DG) Barrister Haroon Or Rashid said, ‘There will never be a rise of militancy in Bangladesh.’
He said this on Monday morning along with senior officers of RAB paying tribute to the victims at the ‘Deepta Saptha’ sculpture of the old Gulshan police station on the 8th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the Holy Artisan Bakery in Gulshan.
Highlighting the success of RAB in eradicating militancy, he said, ‘RAB has all kinds of capabilities as a three-dimensional force. Militancy is under control. Cyberspace surveillance continues.’
RAB DG said, ‘On this day in 2016, there was a terrorist attack at Holy Artisan Bakery in Gulshan. Later, RAB and police conducted raids on militant hideouts based on intelligence information. RAB and police were able to destroy many militant hideouts. Many militants were arrested and brought under the law. Now there is no such information on militant activities. Militancy is now largely under control. Bangladesh is now a safe country in the world.
It is to be noted that on July 1, 2016, at around 9:30 PM, there was news of police firing ‘with terrorists’ at Holy Artisan Bakery on Road No. 79 in Gulshan of the capital. Five militants of the New JMB entered the bakery and first carried out indiscriminate killings, brutally killing 22 people including 18 foreign nationals.
Among them, 9 were from Italy, 7 from Japan, 1 from India and 3 from Bangladesh. 1 in 3 Bangladeshis had dual citizenship. 2 police officers lost their lives trying to prevent the hellish attack.