3 killed in sudden explosion in Gobindaganj

Three people were killed in a sudden explosion at a house in Gaibandha's Gobindaganj upazila today.

The incident occurred at Noapara village of the upazila around 3:30pm, said Arif Anowar, station officer of Gobindaganj Fire Service and Civil Defence.

The deceased were identified as house owner Borhan Uddin (35) and his neighbour Wahidul Islam (32). The other deceased could not be identified immediately, reports our Bogura correspondent.  

Borhanuddin died on the spot while the two others died on the way to hospital, he said.

"We initially thought that a gas cylinder exploded in the house. But we did not get any sign of gas cylinder explosion after reaching the spot," said the fire service official.

Tauhidul Islam, superintendent of Gaibandha Police, said there was no gas cylinder in the house. Police recovered a bag containing some white stones and a multiplug from the house.

"We have informed explosive experts of police. The team has started going the spot. They will investigate the explosion," added the SP.

Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) of Rangpur Range Devdas Bhattacharya told The Daily Star that three people were killed in the explosion. Police have since cordoned off the whole area.

Responding to a query whether it was militant activity, Devdas said "It is not possible to say right now. We are checking the portfolios of the deceased. The wife of one of the deceased was detained and is now being interrogated."

Talking to The Daily Star, Rahmatullah Chowdhury, in-charge of the bomb disposal unit at the Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit, said on information, they started for the spot from Dhaka."

"From analysing the injury patterns, it seems like it was a strong explosion."

A top official of the CTTC seeking anonymity told The Daily Star that it could be part of militant activities as the house owner was a JMB supporter.