Explosives experts of the police will investigate the deadly blast in Dhaka’s Moghbazar, but chief Benazir Ahmed believes it was not caused by a bomb.
During a visit to the site on Monday, the inspector general of police pointed out that a bomb explosion would have caused damage around the spot, but the Moghbazar incident destroyed the front parts of a building.
He said Sunday’s incident was similar to blasts from gas leaks in Shanir Akhra, Narayanganj and other places, reports bdnews24.com.
Asked if there was any foul play behind the blast, the IGP said they need to wait to reach a conclusion about the incident. “We should wait for the expert opinion.”
“We haven’t found anything but shards of glass. It smells like methane gas inside. The Fire Service will bring their gas detector equipment and we’ll see if there’s any gas existing inside.”
“Being the expert, the Fire Service has opened a probe into the incident, but we’ll form another committee putting our bomb disposal unit on it. We’ll work together with the Fire Service and exchange our findings. We hope such an incident is never repeated,” Benazir said.
The authorities will check the nearby flyover and open the road to traffic after cleaning the debris, the IGP said.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Md Shafiqul Islam and chief of Special Branch Monirul Islam and chief of Dhaka Metropolitan Detective Branch AKM Hafiz Akhter accompanied the IGP.
DMP chief Shafiqul on Sunday also ruled out any foul play behind the horrific explosion that sent the three-storey building crashing down.
Based on what he heard from fire crews, Shafiqul said the explosion might have been caused by 'gas accumulation'.
At least seven people were killed in the incident, which rocked the Wireless Gate area around 7:30pm on Sunday. Hundreds, including many pedestrians and commuters, were treated for their injuries at different hospitals in the capital.