Student questioned over Bangladesh bombing
A college student is being questioned in connection with the bombing of an open-air New Year concert that killed nine people and wounded 26.
The blast hit as 2,000 revelers welcomed Pahela Baishakh, the Bengali New Year, on Saturday at a park in downtown Dhaka
No one has claimed responsibility. However, police suspect the bombing was the work of four young men who lived together in a rented house in Demra, near Dhaka.
The college student was detained on Saturday for questioning. Police identified him only as Swadhin. Another suspect is believed to be dead in the blast. Two others are among the 10 people being treated in two state-run hospitals.
"We are interrogating the detained man and keeping close watch on the two other injured suspects in hospitals," Abdul Hannan, the police officer investigating the blast told reporters.
The two will be questioned after they recover, Mr Hannan said.
President Justice Shahabuddin Ahmed, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and opposition leader Khaleda Zia, in separate statements, condemned the attack and called for punishing the perpetrators.
Curious men, women and children visited the site of the explosion, a lush green area still cordoned off by police.
Artists, teachers and academics have planned a protest rally in Dhaka University campus on Sunday.
An army bomb disposal squad late Saturday defused another device that was left lying near the site of the explosion that rocked the concert. A second explosion near the site injured a police officer who was examining the device.
