Officers of high commission in B'desh unhurt, says MEA

The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday confirmed that officers of the Indian high commission to Bangladesh were safe and unhurt after crude bomb explosions at Khulna on Friday.

At an official briefing, Spokesperson to the Ministry of External Affairs Syed Akbaruddin said: “As per our information, while the High Commissioner Pankaj Saran was attending a function in Khulna, there were crude bomb explosions approximately 20 meters away from where his car was parked.

“As per our information, nobody involved with the high commission was either injured or the car damaged in any form. I may also clarify that this was not the high commission’s vehicle. This was a local car hired by the high commission.”

He said the Indian mission was in touch with the Bangladeshi authorities “who are investigating the case. We will wait for the outcome of those investigations before jumping to any conclusion whether this was even an attack related to the high commission at all.”

According to reports, three people were injured when miscreants hurled crude bombs in front of parked cars in Khulna while the high commissioner was addressing a meeting at the chamber of commerce and industries building.

Police suspect it could be the handiwork of Jamaat-e-Islami cadre ahead of their planned general strike in Khulna district.

Last month, a low-intensity crude bomb, later described by officials as a “firecracker,” was hurled on the road outside the Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel in Dhaka where President Pranab Mukherjee was staying during his March 3-5 visit.

No one was hurt in that incident which took place during a two-day nationwide strike called by the Jamaat-e-Islami.

The fundamentalist Jamaat is protesting the conviction of three of its top leaders for 1971 war crimes.