DHAKA, 15 October 2007 — Police yesterday seized seven crude bombs from two places in Barguna district and arrested four people.
Five bombs were found near the house of one Golam Mostafa and two were planted near Baitun Najat Jame Mosque in the district town.
Police later arrested Golam Mostafa, Bayezid Hossain Sagir, Hafez M. Zakir Hossain and Jubayer Hossain.
A bomb expert of the Rapid Action Battalion defused two bombs at Sadar police station in the afternoon. Experts said the bombs were not powerful enough to cause casualties and were only intended to create panic.
Five other bombs found near the mosque were kept in the police station for further test. Extra security measures were put in place in the capital Dhaka to avert any untoward incident during Eid.
People Pray for Stability
Bangladeshis prayed for political stability in the emergency-ruled country yesterday as they celebrated Eid Al-Fitr that marks the end of Ramadan.
“We pray for the peace and prosperity of the country. Let us forget enmity in politics and strive to make a good nation,” a prayer leader told a 50,000-strong congregation at Dhaka’s national mosque.
Bangladesh has been under emergency rule since January when a state of emergency was imposed and elections were canceled over vote-rigging allegations. Those arrested include the country’s two most recent prime ministers, Khaleda Zia and Hasina Wajed, who lead the two main political parties.
Bangladesh marked the festival yesterday — the biggest in the Islamic calendar — after most other Muslim countries as the new moon was not sighted until Saturday night.
Cities across the country were almost deserted after a mass exodus of people who traveled to their home villages to spend the holiday with their families.
