Tarishi Jain, an 18-year-old girl, was the lone Indian among the 20 foreigners hacked to death by alleged ISIS terrorists at the upscale Holey Artisan Bakery in Dhaka on Friday night. Tarushi was holidaying in the Bangladesh Capital when she, along with a number of people, most of them being foreigners, was taken hostage in a chilling 11-hour seize by the ISIS, known for its brutal killing methods.
Bangladesh Director of Military Operations Brigadier General Nayeem Ashfaq Chowdhury said the militants slaughtered 20 hostages before the joint operation led by the armed forces began killing six terrorists and capturing one militant. Most of the victims had their throats slit, he said. Nine Italians, seven Japanese and one American were among 19 others who were brutally murdered.
Tarishi had done her schooling from Dhaka’s American School, and was presently a student at Berkeley. External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tweeted that she has spoken to Sanjeev Jain, the father of the deceased, and conveyed her deepest condolences.
Tarishi’s father runs a garment business in Bangladesh for the last 15-20 years, according to officials here. As luck would have it, another Indian, a doctor by profession, had a narrow escape, as he spoke fluent Bengali and the terrorists mistook him for a Bangladeshi, they said.
Denouncing the “despicable attack”, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the Dhaka attack “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.
“India stands firmly with our sisters & brothers of Bangladesh in this hour of grief. My thoughts are with the bereaved families. I pray that those who are injured recover quickly,” the Prime Minister said in his tweeted.
In a series of tweets, Swaraj said, “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. I have spoken to her father Sanjeev Jain and conveyed our deepest condolences. The country is with them in this hour of grief. We are arranging visa for the family. My officers are on the job,” she said.
The mission codenamed “Operation Thunderbolt” was launched after Sheikh Hasina ordered the Army to intervene to end the hostage crisis, said the Bangladesh Director of Military Operations. Gunshots and sounds of explosion rocked the area at 7.40 am (local time) as security forces launched the final assault to end the siege.
Minutes later, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh 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 at the Spanish cafe. “It was an extremely heinous act. What kind of Muslims are these peopleIJ They don’t have any religion,” she said in a televised speech, referring to the terrorists.
“They (gunmen) defied the call of Ramadan’s tarabi (special evening) prayers and went to kill people...The way they killed people is intolerable. They don’t have any religion...Terrorism is their religion,” said Hasina, with Army chief General Abu Belal Muhammad Shafiul Huq by her side. “I thank Allah as we could destroy the terrorists and rescue the hostages,” Hasina said, adding that “none of the terrorists could flee the scene, six of them were killed on the spot and one was captured alive.”
Hasina vowed to do everything to “uproot the militants and violent extremists” from Bangladesh.