DHAKA — A series of cocktail explosions and bus fires were reported at several locations across Bangladesh’s capital on Saturday night, with one person injured in an explosion in Jatrabari, police said.
Four separate cocktail explosions were reported in Jatrabari, while additional explosions occurred near the Secretariat metro station and at Amtoli intersection in Mohakhali. Three buses were also set on fire at different locations between the evening and night.
In Jatrabari, four cocktails exploded in front of Haji Samad Market, opposite the Jatrabari police station, at around 7:30 p.m. A rickshaw puller, identified as Mohammad Billal, 32, was injured and taken to hospital, according to police.
Mir Muhsin Masud Rana, additional deputy commissioner of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Wari Division, said authorities were investigating the incident and reviewing CCTV footage from the area to identify those responsible. Police suspect the explosives may have been thrown from a flyover.
Earlier, at around 10:45 p.m., a cocktail exploded on a road near the Secretariat metro station.
Shahbagh police chief Mohammad Moniruzzaman said there were no immediate reports of casualties or property damage.
At about midnight, four more cocktails exploded at Amtoli intersection in Mohakhali. Police said the devices were thrown from the Mohakhali flyover and exploded after landing on the road. No injuries were reported.
A.K.M. Mohin Uddin, an inspector with Banani police, said CCTV footage from the scene and surrounding areas was being reviewed to identify those involved.
Three buses were reported to have caught fire at separate locations between around 7:15 p.m. and 8 p.m.
A passenger bus operated by Shikor Paribahan was set on fire near Zamzam Tower in Mirpur-11 at about 7:13 p.m. Fire Service personnel deployed two units to extinguish the blaze. Police said no casualties were reported.
Another bus belonging to Abhijat Paribahan was reportedly targeted in the Mirpur-1 area around the same time. Police said an attempt was made to set the bus on fire, but the suspects fled after being chased by local residents.
At about 7:50 p.m., a staff bus operated by Alif Enterprise caught fire beneath the Madhya Badda U-loop, opposite the Canadian University of Bangladesh. Police said the bus was parked by the roadside and that the immediate cause of the fire had not been established. Investigators were examining whether it was arson or the result of a technical fault.
Security tightened
The incidents came a day after a series of cocktail explosions and bus fires were reported at several locations in Dhaka on Friday.
Authorities have since stepped up security across the capital, with police establishing more than 200 checkpoints at key locations. Increased patrols have also been deployed, while heightened surveillance is being maintained at four major entry points to the city.
Police are checking vehicles entering and leaving Dhaka and conducting searches of people and vehicles considered suspicious.
A case has been filed under Bangladesh’s Explosives Act against unidentified suspects over Friday’s cocktail explosion in Jatrabari, according to the local police chief. The Detective Branch of Dhaka Metropolitan Police is investigating the case.
Another case was filed over a bus fire near Kafrul police station. According to police, seven people were named in the case and efforts were underway to arrest those allegedly involved.
Police said a general diary was filed over an alleged cocktail explosion in Agargaon after investigators found no physical evidence of an explosive device at the scene.
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