An abandoned umbrella lying beneath Dhaka's Motijheel metro station appeared harmless. But inside, police say, was a powerful improvised explosive device (IED) planted along the route of the Hindu community's Rath Yatra procession.
The bomb was discovered on Friday as the annual procession was making its way from Dhakeshwari National Temple through Motijheel's Shapla Chattar to Swamibagh Ashram. According to investigators, the device had been placed beside the metro station's generator room, directly along the procession's route.
Local residents first became suspicious after noticing a flashing light inside the umbrella and alerted police. Traffic officers informed the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) control room, prompting Motijheel Police Sub-Inspector Md Mukta and other officers to reach the scene at about 6:20pm.
Rather than causing panic among thousands of devotees, officers quietly cordoned off the area and diverted the procession. According to the police case, participants were told only that there had been a "short circuit" nearby, allowing the procession to continue safely while the area was secured.
Once the procession had passed, the DMP bomb disposal unit carried out a controlled explosion, destroying what was initially believed to be a crude "cocktail" explosive.
A bomb disposal official later confirmed that the device was, in fact, a powerful pipe bomb hidden inside the umbrella. It contained around 1.5kg of sulphur, along with barbed wire, steel ball bearings and sharp metal fragments designed to maximise injuries.
"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."
Police recovered fragments of a galvanised iron pipe, a battery and steel ball bearings from the scene as evidence.
Investigators now believe the explosive was planted specifically to target the Rath Yatra procession. In the case filed under the Explosive Substances Act against unidentified suspects, Md Mukta described the incident as "a premeditated attempt to endanger public safety and create panic by detonating an explosive".
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner for the Motijheel Zone Hussain Muhammad Farabi said an investigation had been launched after the abandoned umbrella was found beneath the metro station. Additional Commissioner Shafiqul Islam, chief of the DMP Detective Branch, later said investigators suspected the procession had been the intended target, although enquiries were continuing to establish who was behind the plot.
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. He received initial treatment at Dhaka Medical College Hospital before being transferred to the National Institute of Ophthalmology in Agargaon.
