1 killed, 2 injured in cocktail explosion in Shariatpur
According to locals, after the blast, miscreants fled the scene, leaving Sohan’s body in a nearby crop field. Upon receiving information, police from Zajira Police Station reached the spot this morning, recovered the body, and cordoned off the area.
A man was killed and two others injured in a cocktail explosion this morning (8 January) at Zajira Upazila of Shariatpur.
The deceased was identified as Sohan Bepari, 32, son of Delwar Bepari of Mulai Beparikandi village. The injured were identified as Nabin Sardar and Arman Molla. They are currently receiving treatment at the Dhaka Medical College and Hospital (DMCH).
The explosion occurred inside a residential house in the Satghariakandi area of Bilaspur Union in the early hours of the morning.
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According to locals, after the blast, miscreants fled the scene, leaving Sohan's body in a nearby crop field. Upon receiving information, police from Zajira Police Station reached the spot this morning, recovered the body, and cordoned off the area.
Sohan's sister, Mazeda Akhter, said that her brother had been involved in a long-standing feud with a local man, Nasir Bepari. Due to multiple cases filed against him, Sohan had been unable to stay at his own house and had been living in hiding at different places.
She said he left home around 11pm yesterday (7 January), and the next morning his mutilated body was found in a crop field. The victim's wife, Pinki Akhter, said Sohan had been hiding in a house in a neighbouring village, where the cocktail explosion reportedly took place.
She added that the miscreants later dumped his body in the field. Villagers said violent clashes over local dominance have persisted in the area for a long time.
On Sunday morning (4 January), more than a hundred cocktails were reportedly detonated during clashes between two rival groups at Budhairhat market in Zajira, leaving a youth named Jabed Sheikh, 20, seriously injured.
Locals believe the violence stems from a prolonged rivalry between supporters of Bilaspur Union Parishad Chairman Kuddus Bepari and his rival Abdul Jalil Madbar. Previous cocktail explosions in Bilashpur on 5 April and 2 November last year had also drawn nationwide attention. Police sources said several cases have been filed under the Explosives Act over earlier incidents.
Abdul Jalil Madbar is currently in jail in connection with those cases, while Chairman Kuddus Bepari is out on bail and has reportedly left the area. Supporters of both sides are now attempting to reassert influence in the locality, police added.
Tanvir Hossain, additional superintendent of police (circle) of Zajira, said splinters of bombs and materials used to make explosives were recovered from a house, while a severely mutilated body was found in a nearby crop field.
"We are investigating how the explosion occurred and how the victim died. Police said efforts are underway to identify and arrest those involved in the incident," he said, adding that additional police have been deployed in the area.
