Bombs blast at Shahbagh

Two homemade bombs exploded near the National Museum in Shahbagh shortly after a procession of Ganajagaran Mancha passed through the area on Monday opposing the Jamaat strike.

The explosions hit the island opposite National Museum around 12:45pm, but no one was hurt, bdnews24.com Dhaka University Correspondent reported.

Shahbagh Police Station Officer in-Charge Sirajul Islam confirmed the blasts and said, “We are trying to find who did this.”

One witness said two bike-riding youths coming in from TSC made the blasts and drove away.

Mancha supporters, who have been campaigning for capital punishment for war criminals, had returned safely to Shahbagh after completing the procession.

Police vigil in the area was intensified after the blasts. They were seen frisking motorcycles and CNG-driven auto-rickshaws in the area.

The Jamaat’s strike was called on Sunday protesting contempt verdict against three party leaders by ICT.

Ganajagaran Mancha, which is seeking a ban on the Jamaat-Shibir combine, had taken out the Monday-procession to protest the strike.

At a short rally at Central Shaheed Minar premises, its spokesperson Imran H Sarker reiterated the Mancha’s demand for a ban on Jamaat. “Only a ban can restrict it. The party need to be banned as put forward in the six-point demand of Ganajagaran Mancha,” he insisted.