Man killed in crude bomb blast in Dhaka amid political tensions ahead of Tarique Rahman’s return

A man was killed in a crude bomb blast in Bangladesh’s capital Dhaka on Wednesday, as the country remains on edge following the recent killing of a prominent student leader and fresh political tensions.

According to Bangladeshi media outlet The Daily Star, miscreants hurled a crude bomb from a flyover in front of the Bangladesh Muktijoddha Sangsad — the central office of 1971 Liberation War veterans — in the Moghbazar area at around 7 pm.

The victim, identified as Saiful, died on the spot, Hatirjheel Police Station Inspector (Operations) Md Mohiuddin said. Police said Saiful was a private shop employee who was having tea at a roadside stall beneath the flyover when the bomb was thrown.

The blast comes just ahead of the return of Tarique Rahman, acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), who is scheduled to arrive in the country on Thursday, ending nearly 17 years in exile in London, the party said.

Rahman, 60, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is widely seen as a leading contender for the prime minister’s post in the general elections due in February. The Muhammad Yunus-led interim government has ordered elaborate security arrangements for his return, while the BNP plans to mobilise large crowds of supporters to welcome him.

Bangladesh has also been witnessing unrest following the killing of Inqilab Moncho leader Sharif Osman Hadi. On Tuesday, the party held a protest rally at Shahbagh in Dhaka demanding justice for his death.

Osman Hadi, a prominent student leader and one of the key figures of the 2024 uprising, was shot by masked gunmen on December 12 in Dhaka while leaving a mosque. He later succumbed to his injuries during treatment in Singapore.