Hasnat has now been implicated in the attack, the Dhaka Tribune quoted Monirul Islam, head of the counter-terrorism unit as saying.
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The police had initially detained Hasnat Karim, a 47-year-old Briton, along with Tahmid Khan, a University of Toronto student, in connection with the deadly attack which was later claimed by the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group.
University of Toronto student Tahmid Hasib Khan (C) leaves after his court appearance in the Bangladesh capital Dhaka on August 13, 2016.Bangladeshi police have formally arrested a British national allegedly involved in the deadly Islamist attack on a Dhaka cafe that killed 22 people last month, officials said August 13.
A number of media outlets have reported that a Dhaka court granted a request by authorities on Saturday to hold Tahmid Hasib Khan, 22, for up to six more days.
He reached Dhaka on July 1, the day militants attacked Holey Artisan Bakery in the capital’s Gulshan that left 22 foreigners and locals including two cops killed.
Karim’s lawyer maintained he was innocent. “He was used as a body shield and forced to walk with the attackers at gunpoint”, Golam Mostafa told AFP. The army said that 20 people had been killed by the hostage takers before security forces began an operation to free hostages.
Karim’s father Rezaul Karim said, “My son was a hero. I know him. He is innocent”. They said Khan was seen holding a firearm and Hasnat Karim strolling with the attackers on the roof.
He went to the Holey Artisan Bakery to celebrate his daughter’s birthday on the day of attack.
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The investigators believe Tamim Ahmed Chowdhury masterminded the attack.
