Cocktail blasts and bus arson in Dhaka and beyond spark fear among residents

As evening falls, fear seems to be growing in the capital. Cocktail explosions and buses being set on fire have been happening in different places, one after another. On Monday (9 November), 15 cocktails exploded in different areas of Dhaka.

In Mirpur, a land trader named Omar Ali, 60, was injured in a cocktail explosion. The incident took place at around 7pm on Monday near the Mirpur 1 roundabout in the Darus Salam police station area, while he was travelling in an auto-rickshaw.

The injured Omar Ali was first taken to the local Mirpur Islami Hospital. He was then taken to Kurmitola Hospital, and later at night to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for better treatment.

At Dhaka Medical, Omar Ali's son-in-law Masum said his father-in-law was passing the Mirpur 1 roundabout in an auto-rickshaw when splinters from a cocktail thrown by miscreants struck his left knee, ankle and eye. Inspector Md Habibur Rahman of the Dhaka Medical police outpost said Omar Ali was under treatment in the hospital's emergency department.

Earlier on Monday, cocktail explosions were reported at several places in Dhaka, including the TSC area of Dhaka University and the court area of old Dhaka.

After a bus was set on fire in Farmgate, a parked bus in Mirpur was also set on fire.

A cocktail exploded in the bus parking area near the second gate of Jagannath University. The blast took place at around 7:30pm on Monday, between two parked buses.

In connection with the incident, Chhatra Dal activists detained a student named Rezwan Ahmed on suspicion of being a Chhatra League worker. Rezwan Ahmed is a student of the university's psychology department from the 2021-22 sessions, and he is initially believed to be a worker of Jagannath University Chhatra League.

Witnesses said they suddenly heard a loud bang at around 7:30pm and saw smoke rising from the spot. The explosion took place between two buses parked beside the second gate, but no one was seen at the spot immediately after the blast, they said.

The university's proctor, Professor Nasir Ahmad, said, 'It was raining in the evening. I heard about the cocktail explosion at the second gate. We were not on campus at the time. Those involved will be identified from CCTV footage.' On the detention of the suspect, the proctor said Chhatra Dal activists had detained a person and the administration was in contact with the police.

Similar incidents took place outside Dhaka as well. A petrol bomb was thrown at a double-decker bus of Islamic University (IU) in Shailkupa, Jhenaidah.

The attack took place at around 9:45pm on Monday (9 November), as the bus named 'Digonto', travelling from Jhenaidah towards the campus, was passing the Chandpur Dragon Bagan area. No damage or casualties were reported.

Witnesses said the Islamic University buses had been stuck in a long traffic jam at Bhatai Bazar because of road construction work. Shortly after the jam cleared and the bus started moving, a petrol bomb was thrown at it from a motorcycle coming from the opposite direction near Chandpur Dragon Bagan. Because the bus was moving, the bomb hit its wheel and fell onto the road. Panic spread among the students. There were 35 Islamic University students on the bus at the time.

Barsha, a journalism student on the bus, said, 'We were stuck in the traffic jam for a long time. Shortly after the bus started moving, the bomb was thrown at it. We survived by a whisker. Is there any safety for people's lives at all? Different parties will enjoy power, and in the end ordinary students and people like us will be attacked. If the bomb had landed one or two inches to the side and hit the tyre, perhaps I would not be alive today. Who will give me the safety of my life?'

The bus driver, Burahan Uddin, said that after the bus crossed the Chandpur bridge and reached Dragon Bagan, one of two helmeted men on a black motorcycle coming from the opposite direction threw something like a petrol bomb at the bus. 'As the bus was moving slowly, I steered it past and drove on. For now, neither the bus nor any student has been harmed. There were about 35 students, my assistant and I on the bus,' he said.

Humayun Kabir Molla, officer-in-charge of Shailkupa police station, said, 'I have heard about such an incident. As soon as we got the news, police were sent to the spot. But no evidence was found. Extra police have been deployed across the highway to prevent any kind of sabotage.'