Bombs explode before Dhaka Central Jail

Four crude bombs exploded in front of the gate of Dhaka Central Jail on Sunday night after several vehicles were vandalised and torched in the capital since the afternoon.

The bombs went off at 11:10pm, Jailor Mahbubur Rahman told bdnews24.com.

“Two people have been arrested at around 11:30pm for suspected involvement in exploding the bombs,” he said.

The detonations took place hours before three days of nationwide shutdown beginning on Monday by Jamaat-e-Islami-backed radical organisation Hifazat-e Islam and the BNP-led opposition alliance.

The BNP had called the strike after eight senior BNP leaders including Acting Secretary General Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir and Standing Committee member Moudud Ahmed were rejected bail earlier on Sunday in several cases and sent to this jail.

Several senior Jamaat leaders including Delwar Hossain Sayedee, convicted of war crimes committed during 1971 Liberation War, are also in this jail.

Jailor Rahman said apart from these opposition leaders, many BNP leaders and activists were also in the prison.

He said security had been tightened in the area after the incident.

Law enforcers have also started conducting raids after the bombs exploded in front of the jail on Nazimuddin Road in Old Dhaka.