People from different walks of life, including law enforcers as well as friends and families paid homage to the victims of the 2016 terror attack at a Dhaka eatery on Monday (Jul 1).
The attack on unsuspecting diners at Gulshan's Holey Artisan Bakery stunned the world and still stirs terror in the hearts of those who witnessed it unfold three years ago.
The old premises of Holey Artisan Bakery and O' Kitchen restaurant at road 79 in Gulshan-2, which saw the worst ever terror attack in Bangladesh's history, was opened on Monday for three hours to allow relatives of the victims and visitors to pay their respects.
Chief of Counter-terrorism and Transnational Crime Unit Monirul Islam, Director General of Rapid Action Battalion Benazir Ahmed and a team of Dhaka Metropolitan Police placed floral wreaths on the premises.
Relatives and friends of the deceased were also seen there as the premises.
Five gunmen stormed the upscale eatery in the diplomatic zone on the night of Jul 1, 2016, and held the diners hostage before brutally killing 20 of them -- three Bangladeshis, seven Japanese, nine Italians and one Indian.
Two police officials were also killed during the 12-hour standoff.
A case was filed with Gulshan police under the Anti-Terrorism Act following the terror attack accusing a faction of the local JMB outfit.
After over two years of investigation, the Counter Terrorism and Trans-national Crime (CTTC) unit of DMP submitted a charge sheet to a Dhaka court on Jul 23 last year, accusing eight terrorists.