'Pressure cooker' bomb found outside Ashulia tea stall, safely defused
Police says the device contained chemical explosives and numerous ball bearings, indicating it was designed to inflict significant casualties.
Highlights:
- Device contained chemical explosives and ball bearings
- Masked man abandoned bomb-filled bag before fleeing
- DMP Bomb Disposal Unit neutralised device in controlled explosion
- Incident comes after IED was found near Motijheel Metro Station
Police recovered a suspected improvised explosive device (IED) concealed inside a pressure cooker from outside a tea stall in Ashulia late last night (30 July), which was later safely neutralised in a controlled explosion by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) Bomb Disposal Unit.
The bomb was found inside a bag left in front of a tea stall in the Charabag Khejur Bagan area of Ashulia at around 10:30pm, Ashulia Police Station Inspector (Investigation) Azgar Hossain confirmed.
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According to the tea stall owner, a man wearing a face mask came to the shop to buy a soft drink but left after the shopkeeper went to a nearby store to get change. The man abandoned the bag outside the shop and did not return.
When he failed to come back after a considerable time, locals opened the bag and found a pressure cooker wrapped in tape before informing police.
After receiving the information, the DMP Bomb Disposal Unit arrived at the scene at around 1am. The device was later taken to a nearby open field at around 6am today (31 July), where officials dug a pit, surrounded it with sandbags and safely destroyed it in a controlled explosion.
Inspector Azgar said forensic evidence had been collected from the scene and that the exact composition of the explosive material would be determined after laboratory examination.
He added that the person who left the device has not yet been identified.
According to sources at the DMP's Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, the device was made using chemical explosives and contained a large number of ball bearings, indicating it was intended to cause significant casualties.
The incident comes just days after police recovered an improvised explosive device (IED) concealed inside an abandoned umbrella beneath Motijheel Metro Station on 24 July.
The IED, which emitted a flashing red light and a beeping sound, was discovered while a reverse Rath Jatra procession of the Hindu community, attended by hundreds of participants, was passing through the area.
The Bomb Disposal Unit later defused the device, although a passerby, Miraj Ahmed, 33, sustained an eye injury during the operation.
