Powerful pressure-cooker bomb defused in Savar

A powerful pressure-cooker bomb wrapped in black tape was recovered from a field in Savar and safely neutralised by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police’s Bomb Disposal Unit on Wednesday, triggering a deafening blast that sent panic through the surrounding area.

The explosive was found inside a blue plastic drum at the field of Laltekh Ghora Mosque in Goper Bari, Sadhapur, around 1:30 am on Wednesday after local residents spotted the abandoned container. Police cordoned off the area after arriving around 8am, while a specialised DMP bomb disposal team reached the scene shortly before 2pm and evacuated people from the vicinity. The bomb was detonated and neutralised at around 3:28 pm, producing a loud explosion and a plume of white smoke that was reportedly felt and heard by residents up to 500 metres away.

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Police said the explosive was highly powerful and that an investigation was underway to determine who left the drum at the site and whether the incident was linked to any planned act of sabotage. Investigators also learned that unidentified individuals had allegedly attempted to remove the drum in an auto-rickshaw around 6am. Additional police have been deployed in and around the area as investigators from Savar Police Station and Bhabanipur Police Camp continue to examine the incident.