Pressure cooker bomb found in Ashulia

A suspected pressure cooker bomb has been recovered from an abandoned bag outside a shop in Ashulia, days after a similar “umbrella bomb” was found in the capital. The device was later safely defused by the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) bomb disposal unit.

Ashulia Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Tariqul Islam confirmed the matter on Friday afternoon, saying a case has been filed under the Explosives Act over the incident.

According to police, locals found an abandoned bag in front of Joyee General Store, a tea shop owned by Hridoy Chakma, in the Khajur Bagan area of Ashulia at around 11:00pm on Thursday.

As the bag remained unattended for a long time, locals became suspicious. Upon opening it, they found a pressure cooker-shaped bomb-like object inside and informed police.

The DMP bomb disposal unit was called to the scene after receiving the information. The team recovered the device and later carried out a controlled operation to neutralise it.

Police said the bomb disposal unit received the call around 1:00am and reached the spot around 3:00am. At around 6:22am on Friday, the device was taken to a nearby open field, placed inside a pit and defused through a specialised process after surrounding it with sandbags.

OC Tariqul Islam said the object had been safely neutralised and police were conducting an investigation to identify and arrest those involved.

Earlier on 24 July, police recovered an “umbrella bomb” from beneath a metro rail station in Motijheel, Dhaka.
Following that incident, Additional Commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (CTTC) Mohammad Shamsul Haque said the bomb had been attached to an umbrella in such a way that opening the umbrella could have triggered an explosion, potentially causing casualties.