It was the deadliest and boldest act of terror in a country that has become increasingly numb to ever-escalating violence by Islamist militants. At least 12 of the 20 hostages who were killed at the cafe have been publicly identified, including an Indian national.
Eighteen-year-old Tarishi Jain, who was killed in the Dhaka terror attack, was reportedly a BA Economics student of Berkeley College, University of California. She was awarded an internship programme by Eastern Bank Limited in 2016 and her project was on ‘EBL-commerce growth opportunity in Bangladesh’.
Her father, Sanjeev Jain, is reported to be a textile merchant based in Dhaka. Meanwhile, Tarishi’s cousin brother Sirish on Saturday said: “We are saddened, want to go to Dhaka, MEA is helping us in formalities.”
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted on Saturday: “I am extremely pained to share that the terrorists have killed Tarishi, an Indian girl who was taken hostage in the terror attack in Dhaka.” The minister informed that she has spoken to her father and conveyed deepest condolences.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Dhaka attack has “pained us beyond words” as he spoke to his Bangladesh counterpart Sheikh Hasina, conveying that India stands firmly with the country in this hour of grief.
Among the 20 dead are three people who attended college in the United States. Two of them attended Georgia’s Emory University. That included Abinta Kabir of Miami, who was a sophomore at Emory’s campus in Oxford, Georgia. She was in Dhaka visiting family and friends, the school added. The other was Faraaz Hossain, of Dhaka, a junior at Emory’s Goizueta Business School in Atlanta.
At least nine of the dead were Italian nationals, Italy’s Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni said Saturday. One Japanese hostage has been rescued but seven others unaccounted in the restaurant attack, said a spokesperson of the Japanese government on Saturday.
Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday declared two days of mourning for the victims. The mission codenamed “Operation Thunderbolt” was launched after the Hasina ordered the Army to intervene. Along with the 20 hostages, two senior Bangladesh police officers were also martyred in the gunbattle.
Gunshots and sounds of explosion rocked the area at 7:40 am (local time) as security forces launched the final offensive to end the siege. Soon after, Hasina announced the end of siege and said security forces “successfully” wrapped up their operation, freeing 13 hostages after
killing six terrorists and capturing one militant.
With agency inputs