4 arrested over crude bomb blasts in front of Jatrabari Police Station
Four unexploded crude bombs recovered following the arrests.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police's Detective Branch (DB) today (20 September) said it has arrested four people in connection with multiple crude bomb explosions in front of Jatrabari Police Station in the capital.
Four unexploded crude bombs were also recovered from them.
The arrestees are Md Raihan Uddin, 35, Russell Khan, 32, Ala Uddin, 28, and Abdullah, 28.
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The DB said all of them are active members of an organisation whose activities have been banned.
DB Wari Division Deputy Commissioner Molla Md Shaheen disclosed the information at a briefing held at the DMP Media Centre on Minto Road in the capital around 12:15pm.
He said several crude bombs exploded in front of Jatrabari Police Station on the night of 18 September.
"We analysed CCTV footage and identified one person. Later, yesterday, we conducted a drive in the Bangshal Police Station area and arrested Raihan Uddin," he said.
Based on information Raihan provided, police later conducted a drive around 12:15am that night to his rented residence in a 10-storey building on JN Saha Road in Lalbagh.
Four unexploded crude bombs wrapped in red tape were recovered from a sack of brick chips kept beside a pillar on the ground floor of the building.
The DMP Bomb Disposal Unit later defused the devices.
After questioning Raihan, police conducted another drive in the Dogair area of Demra and arrested the other three.
Asked about the political identities of the arrestees, Shaheen said Raihan is the office secretary of Unit No 6 under Ward No 32 of the Awami League's Bangshal unit in Dhaka South, an organisation whose activities have been banned.
He was arrested last year in a case filed under the Anti-Terrorism Act with Motijheel Police Station and spent five months in jail. He was recently released on bail and, Shaheen said, became involved in such activities again.
He said all four are active members of the banned organisation.
Asked about the motive of the arrestees, Shaheen said, "They are actually doing these things to create panic among the public, and they also have a political motive."
He said several similar incidents had taken place in different parts of Dhaka over the past two to three days, and the Jatrabari incident was part of those incidents.
"We will seek their remand to find out why they did this and who else is involved," he said.
Asked whether Raihan had been in contact with fugitive Awami League leaders, Shaheen said, "Yes, there are communications on their mobile phones. We are analysing those. More details will be known after they are brought on remand."
Several crude bombs exploded in front of Jatrabari Police Station around 8pm on 18 September, leaving an autorickshaw driver injured. A case was filed with Jatrabari Police Station over the incident.
