Nibras Islam

One of the Holey Artisan attackers had lived in Jhenidah for around four months and left the place only a couple of days before the bloody siege of the Gulshan café on July 1.

Along with seven other young men, 22-year-old Nibras Islam, one of the terrorists killed during the siege, rented two rooms at Sonalipara village for Tk 2,300 a month in early March.

He had identified himself as Sayeed and stayed there till June 28, said Bilkis Nahar, wife of the house owner.

All the eight men claimed that they were students, she said.

Asked whether she knew the names of the seven tenants apart from Nibras, Bilkis said she remembered the name of only one other tenant named Mustafa.

She said Nibras told them that he was seeking admission to Islamic University. “I didn't personally know every boy in the house. But I thought they were good people…”

Some of the youths in the neighbourhood, who often played football with Nibras, identified him from the pictures of the Gulshan café attackers published in the media.

The house in Jhenidah where Nibras Islam, one of the Gulshan café attackers, along with seven other youths lived for four months before the attack. The photo was taken yesterday. Photo: Star

They said that they were shocked to learn that the young man was capable of committing such butchery.

On July 6, law enforcers raided the two rooms, but all the tenants had left the day before, said Bilkis.

A couple of hours after searching the two rooms, around 10-12 members of Rapid Action Battalion and police picked up Bilkis' husband Kausar Ali, 50, a retired employee of Bangladesh army, and two sons -- Binsar Ali, 24 and Benjir Ali, 22, according to Bilkis.

Her neighbours said the law enforcers also picked up Sonalipara mosque imam Md Rokonuzzaman, who helped Nibras rent the mess, and a villager named Abdur Rob.

However, police and Rab officials denied detaining any of them.

Of the eight tenants, five had left the house around 20 days ago and the rest a couple of days after the terrorist attack in Gulshan, Bilkis said.

Earlier on February 8, Nibras and three to four of his accomplices managed to avoid arrest in the capital, according to police.

On that day, police were conducting a drive in Shahbagh area on information that some suspected militants were plotting to carry out subversive activities there, according to the documents of a case filed with Shahbagh Police Station against 12 people, including Nibras, on February 9.

Law enforcers arrested three suspected militants from in front of the Institution of Engineers, Bangladesh, but three to four, including Nibras, escaped, it said.

The arrestees are Raiyan Minhaz, Ahmed Shammur Raihan and Touhid Bin Ahmed.

The case statement said the social media accounts and emails of the accused could lead to vital information on militant activities in the country.

On July 1 night, armed terrorists attacked the upscale Gulshan eatery and butchered 20 hostages -- nine Italians, seven Japanese, two Bangladeshis, one Indian and one Bangladesh-born US citizen.

The 11-hour hostage situation ended when army commandos stormed the café in the high-security diplomatic zone around 8:00am on July 2. In the operation, codenamed Thunderbolt, five militants were killed.