Dhaka attack: Affluent and educated killers

DHAKA: The Bangladesh capital woke up to a cloudy Sunday after incessant rain through the night. But another spectre crept up and menaced Dhaka as it emerged that most of the cafe terrorists came from well-to-do families and might have been alumni of elite private institutions.

“Terror activities in our country were always linked to madarsa students coming from a poor background and brainwashed by religious teachers…. The terror attack at the Holey Artisan cafe is a game-changer. I was surprised to learn about the background of the terrorists,” said a businessman before taking a flight to Calcutta from Dhaka’s Shah Jalal International Airport.

Several times in the past, the rise of radicalisation has been linked to the spread of madarsas – which do offer an avenue for parents who cannot afford mainstream education for their children – across the country with funding from the Jamaat-e-Islami, the hardline party.

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Against this backdrop, the limited information trickling out has caught Bangladesh by surprise and convulsed social media.

Reports in local media, which spoke to acquaintances of the attackers and picked up information from social media, suggested that the gunmen were not have-nots. Although tight-lipped on specific information, officials also echoed the view.

Official sources have identified five of the gunmen as Akash, Bikash, Don, Badhon and Ripon. However, The Daily Star newspaper of Bangladesh said friends of three of these attackers cited different names: Nibras Islam, Meer Saameh Mubasher and Rohan Imtiaz.