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Published : 25 Jul 2026, 05:20 PM
A powerful improvised explosive device (IED) defused by police near a metro rail station in Dhaka’s Motijheel had been planted along the route of the Hindu community's Rath Yatra procession.
As the procession passed the spot where the bomb lay, police cordoned off the area but told marchers only that a "short circuit" had occurred there, according to a case filed over the incident.
Police officials believe the bomb was planted specifically targeting the procession, and say early detection helped avert a major disaster.
Motijheel Police Sub-Inspector Md Mukta lodged a case against unidentified individuals under the Explosive Substances Act.
The incident occurred on Friday. At the time, Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Assistant Commissioner (Motijheel Zone) Hussain Muhammad Farabi, had said a "cocktail" was found inside an abandoned umbrella beneath Motijheel metro station.
He said local residents alerted police after noticing a light blinking inside the umbrella, prompting police to cordon off the area before the bomb disposal unit arrived and destroyed the device in a controlled explosion.
He added that an investigation was under way into who had left it there.
A DMP bomb disposal official, however, said on Friday night that the object hidden inside the umbrella beneath the metro station was in fact a powerful “pipe bomb”.
He said anyone who pressed the button to open the umbrella out of curiosity could have triggered a major disaster.
According to the case, Mukta was on motorcycle patrol assigned to secure the procession of Rath Yatra, the Hindu Chariot Festival, which travelled from Dhakeshwari National Temple through Motijheel's Shapla Chattar to Swamibagh Ashram.
Traffic police alerted the DMP control room after spotting what appeared to be a bomb inside an umbrella emitting a flashing light.
Following instructions from senior officers, Mukta and colleagues reached the scene at about 6:20pm, secured the area beside the metro station's generator room, and diverted the procession by telling participants a short circuit had occurred.
After the procession had moved on, the bomb disposal team destroyed the device in a controlled explosion.
Police said fragments of a galvanised iron pipe, a battery and steel ball bearings were recovered from the scene as evidence.
A bomb disposal official told bdnews24.com the IED contained about 1.5kg of sulphur, along with barbed wire and sharp metal fragments.
"It was a pipe bomb. If someone had pressed the umbrella's button to open it, the circuit would have triggered an explosion," the official said.
"The metal fragments would then have acted as shrapnel, causing serious injuries to people nearby."
The case says the device had been planted as part of “a premeditated attempt to endanger public safety and create panic by detonating an explosive”.
DMP Detective Branch chief Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam also said investigators suspected the procession had been the intended target, though the inquiry was continuing.
One passer-by was injured during the controlled detonation on Friday night.
Miraj Ahmed, 66, an employee of the Ministry of Education, suffered an eye injury from flying fragments. After receiving initial treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital, he was transferred to the National Institute of Ophthalmology in Agargaon.
