BY SUMI KHAN
Explosives must be neutralised by a bomb disposal team at the spot to avoid any accident, but the Pallabi police team chief and Officer-in-Charge (OC) Nazrul Islam of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) did not do this.
Even the Police team did not follow proper safety measures, they carried the explosive to the police station instead and it accidentally went off when the police officers tried to defuse it inside the premises. The blast that occurred on July 29 injured 5 people including 4 police officers.
Pallabi police station officers and top officers of the DMP’s Mirpur division were aware that there could be a hidden explosive inside the digital scale that they seized from Kalshi graveyard, a DMP official said.
Immediately after the blast, the DMP formed a probe committee headed by its Joint Commissioner (Operation) Monir Hossain. The probe committee will submit its report on Monday.
Police denied the involvement of militants in the incident, although the Islamic State (IS) terror group claimed responsibility for it. The DMP issued transfer orders amid its investigation over the incident.
DMP Deputy Commissioner (Media) Walid Hossain said they were routine transfers and the investigation was yet to be completed. “When the investigation is done, individual responsibility for the blast will be possible to determine and the role of each officer in it,” he added.
Sources at the DMP said there is an allegation that the mishandling of an explosive inside the station led to the blast after police claimed to have arrested three local criminals with it from Kalshi. However, the family members of the three arrested alleged that they had been picked up a few days earlier.
Meanwhile, top officials of the DMP’s Mirpur division were transferred 10 days after the blast.
DMP Commissioner Shafiqul Islam on Saturday transferred six officers, including Mirpur division Deputy Commissioner Mostak Ahmed, and Pallabi Police Station Officer-in-Charge (OC) Nazrul Islam to another duty.
