Explosion During ‘Bomb Making’ Blows Off Victim’s Wrist and Roof of House

A young man was killed and four others were injured in an explosion while making hand bombs in Jajira upazila of Shariatpur.

Police say that during the explosion while “making bombs,” the deceased youth’s wrist was blown off along with the roof of the house. Later, the body was taken to a nearby onion field to hide it. The others fled after leaving the body there. A large quantity of bomb-making materials was recovered from the scene.

The incident took place at dawn on Thursday at the house of Sagar Bepari in the Mulai Beparikandi area of Bilaspur Union in the upazila, said Jajira Police Station officer-in-charge Saleh Ahmed.

The deceased, Sohan Bepari (32), was the son of Delwar Hossain Bepari of the area. The injured are being treated secretly at various hospitals in Dhaka. However, their identities could not be confirmed.

Police and local residents say that a long-standing rivalry over dominance has existed between supporters of the current Bilaspur Union chairman Quddus Bepari and supporters of Swechchhasebak League leader Jalil Madbar. At times, people from both sides clash using locally made weapons and hand bombs.

At dawn, several people were making bombs in a newly constructed house belonging to Sagar Bepari, a cousin of Quddus Bepari. During the explosion, Sohan was critically injured and died on the spot. His wrist was blown off, and the roof of the house was destroyed. Later, his accomplices fled after leaving the body in a nearby onion field.

Regarding the incident, Sagar’s wife, Shilpi Begum, said, “My husband drives a van. We built the house with help from people. We have not started living in the new house yet. I woke up at dawn after hearing the sound of an explosion.

“Later I came to know that there was a bomb explosion in our new house. I do not know who was in that house at night. Since there were no belongings inside, it was not kept locked.”

Local resident Sajeda Begum said, “There used to be frequent fighting in the area before. People from both sides would clash. For the past year, things were calm as many were in jail. Now the fighting has started again like before. Even though this area is known as a bomb-prone area, police do not carry out any operations.”

Another woman, Rabeya Khatun, said, “At first I thought it was a transformer blast. When I opened the door, I saw a lot of smoke and some people running away. I saw a body being dragged toward the onion field.”

Officer-in-charge Saleh Ahmed said that after receiving the information in the morning, police recovered the body and sent it to Shariatpur Sadar Hospital for autopsy. Sagar’s house was blown apart, and hundreds of bomb-making materials were scattered around the area.

Additional Superintendent of Police of Shariatpur, Md. Tanvir Hasan, said efforts are underway to find out where the injured are receiving treatment. Legal action will be taken following an investigation.