Dhaka: The unrest in Bangladesh refuses to cool down.
Fresh violence erupted in Dhaka on Christmas Eve after a man was killed in a powerful crude bomb explosion near the Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad Central Command at the capital city’s Moghbazar intersection on Wednesday evening.
Police said unidentified assailants threw a crude bomb from the Moghbazar flyover to the main road, adjacent to the Assemblies of God (AG) Church, at around 7.10 pm. The improvised explosive device hit 21-year-old Saiful Siam on the head, killing him instantly.
Ramna Division Deputy Police Commissioner Masud Alam told Jago News that a powerful cocktail bomb was hurled from the flyover. “The youth died on the spot after being hit by the explosive,” he said, adding that an investigation is underway.
Eyewitness Faruk, a streetside tea-stall owner, said that Siam had come to him for a cup of tea. “I was washing cups when there was a sudden bang. Then I saw Siam had fallen to the ground with blood gushing out from his head, and his brains were scattered all around,” he said.
Siam was an employee of a nearby automobile accessories shop.
The latest violence comes at a time when security in Dhaka has been tightened ahead of the arrival of Tarique Rahman, son of former President Ziaur Rahman and former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia.
Tarique, who has been in exile for 15 years, is returning to Dhaka a month-and-a-half before general elections in Bangladesh.
Diplomatic ties between India and Bangladesh have nosedived following a Hindu man’s brutal killing in Mymensingh last week, followed by alleged atrocities against minorities across Bangladesh.
Bangladesh has been on the boil since student leader Sharif Osman Hadi died during treatment in Singapore, days after being shot in Dhaka.
