Babul says sorry to Tarishi’s kin

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi politician whose son was among the attackers who stormed a Dhaka cafe and murdered 20 hostages apologised on Tuesday to the parents of Tarishi

DHAKA: A Bangladeshi politician whose son was among the attackers who stormed a Dhaka cafe and murdered 20 hostages apologised on Tuesday to the parents of Tarishi Jain, the young Indian woman killed in the strike.

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“An Indian girl was killed in the attack, I can only apologise to India and to her parents...I can only say I am an unfortunate father. I don’ t have enough words to apologise,” Imtiaz Khan Babul said. The Awami League leader told NDTV that his son Rohan Imtiaz, 22, who was killed with other attackers in a military operation that ended the siege of Holey Artisan Bakery, was“a topper in class and math, a football fanatic and a Man U supporter”.

“I identified my son from a picture released by the( Islamic State)...I was stunned ,” he said, adding he had not seen Imtiaz since he left home last December. At the time, Babul was in India with his maths teacher wife. Babul spoke of his shock and horror on learning that his son was among the attackers .“Where did he get his training, where did he go during the last six months?”

“There was nothing that would suggest he was getting radicalised. He hardly read any religious books,” he said, adding he believed his son may have been “brainwashed” online. After Imtiaz’s disappearance, Babul lobbied senior party officials to help find his only son.