Dhaka, Nov 9 : As Bangladesh grapples with escalating violence and a deteriorating law-and-order situation, at least eight buses have been set ablaze and more than 50 crude bomb explosions rocked different locations across Dhaka over the past few days, according to a local media report.
It noted that a series of crude bomb explosions triggered panic at Dhaka University on Sunday evening, with multiple other locations across the capital also witnessing similar blasts.
The campus was still witnessing the evening rush when two loud explosions occurred in quick succession in the Teacher-Student Centre (TSC) area of Dhaka University.
Further blasts were reported near the administrative building, outside the VC Chattar and at the Mukti-Ganatantra Toron. Students also detained several people while they were attempting to flee the scene.
Meanwhile, crude bomb explosions were reported at several other locations across the capital, including outside the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) office in Malibagh, a report in Bangladeshi daily Dhaka Tribune stated.
The report further highlighted that in the early hours of Saturday, two motorcycle-borne individuals fled after detonating three to four crude bombs in quick succession at the Chowrasta intersection in the Jatrabari area of Dhaka.
Hours earlier, another bomb exploded outside the upazila parishad gate near Genda Bus Stand on the Dhaka-Aricha Highway in Savar, while eyewitnesses were unable to identify those responsible.
"Explosions are now occurring one after another across the capital and surrounding areas, in front of police stations, at police facilities, near important government buildings and on university campuses. Some attackers arrive on motorcycles, set off explosions and flee. In other cases, their movements are captured on CCTV. After each incident, police say they are investigating, conducting operations and trying to identify those responsible," the report mentioned.
"Questions remain, however, about who is behind the blasts and how directly the detained individuals are linked to them. Are police identifying and arresting the people who throw the bombs, or are arrests mainly of suspects and people accused of political affiliations, to fill arrest figures? And who is making and supplying the bombs, and directing the attacks?," it questioned,
Addressing the media at the DMP Media Centre on Sunday, Deputy Police Commissioner Md Akhtar Hossain said that police were closely monitoring incidents of crude bomb explosions and vehicle arson and conducting investigations into each of them.
Several suspects, including members of banned organisations and their affiliated outfits, have been taken into custody.
He said police suspected that a particular group was deliberately orchestrating sabotage activities to create panic among the public.
Speaking to Dhaka Tribune, Tawhidul Haque, a Dhaka University teacher and crime analyst, said that while arrests were essential to maintaining law and order, authorities must ensure that innocent people were not targeted and harassed merely on suspicion.
He stressed that no arrested person should be labelled a bomb thrower without sufficient evidence emerging from the investigation.
