Fears for two Bangla hostage survivors

Dhaka, July 13: Families and rights groups on Wednesday expressed fears for two survivors of a deadly siege at a Bangladesh cafe who are missing after being grilled by the police about the attack.

Amnesty International has asked the authorities to establish “the fate and whereabouts” of Hasnat Karim, who survived the attack and has been missing since being taken in for questioning 11 days ago.

Family members of Tahmid Khan also told AFP that they were in the dark about the 22- year- old Toronto University student’s whereabouts after he was taken into custody as part of a police probe into the attack.

Suspected Islamist militants killed 20 diners and two police officers when they raided the upscale Holey Artisan restaurant on the night of July 1. Army commandos stormed the cafe the next morning, killing all five attackers and rescuing 13 people, including Karim and Khan.

The police said both immediately after they were rescued. But they are no longer with police custody,” Dhaka police spokesman Masudur Rahman told AFP on Wednesday. A military spokesman also told AFP that the two were not in their custody.

Fears for the pair’s safety have been compounded after a 18- year- old injured survivor, who was rescued during the siege and was described as suspect, died in hospital after claims by his father that he was tortured by security forces.