Sholakia explosion eyewitness talks of two consecutive explosions

A banker on condition of anonymity has provided a chilling eye-witness account of the explosions near Sholakia ground in Kishoreganj on Thursday.

The Eid prayer at Sholakia ground was scheduled for 10 am, but he reached the gate near Azimuddin High School an hour before on way to the prayers.

"That is when I decided to wait for a friend on the western side of the Azimuddin High School gate by the side of the railway line," said the banker.

'That is when two successive explosions rocked the check post that sits astride the road to the Eidgah, about 100 metres from where I was waiting for my friend. I could see smoke billowing out and a few policemen on ground, writhing in pain." 

"I could see a young man run out in panic. I could hear another explosion as I ran out of the area. Thousands of people assembled in the Sholakia grounds were in obvious panic."

Dhaka range DIG Nuruzzaman said Maulana Faird Uddin Masud, who leads the prayers, as usual landed in a helicopter in the school's ground just moments before the attack.

“He was escorted to the Circuit House… he was there when it happened. He could not be escorted to the ground and was moved to safety.”    

Maulana Masud usually conducts the Eid congregation at Sholakia, the largest such congregation during Eid in Bangladesh.

The sprawling seven acre ground accommodates more than 200,000 people.

But as Masud was taken away, Maulana Shoiaber Imam , who teaches in the local Jamia Imdadia Madrassa, conducted the Eid prayers. 

The banker said that once police got over the initial shock of the attack, they chased down the attackers and the whole area turned into a battleground with bullets flying all over.

 Residents and those who had come to pray were in obvious panic. 

Though many stayed behind at Sholakia grounds for the Eid prayers, the banker says he could not muster enough courage.

"I returned to pray in the mosque near my house."