Police in Chapainawabganj recovered 24 crude explosive devices, locally known as cocktails, during operations across multiple locations in the district on Sunday, 12 October. No arrests have been made so far in connection with the seizures, though authorities have launched a formal investigation to identify those responsible.
The largest haul occurred in the evening at around 9:15 pm, following a tip-off from local residents in the Munshitola Mandalpara area of Maharajpur Union under Sadar upazila. Villagers had alerted police earlier in the afternoon, around 3:00 pm, after discovering three freshly dug pits containing red buckets inside a local lemon grove. Officers immediately cordoned off the site and requested specialized assistance from law enforcement. A bomb disposal unit from the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB-5), based in Rajshahi, arrived at the scene and safely extracted 17 tape-wrapped crude bombs buried inside the buckets before deactivating them.
Earlier that day, at around 12:00 pm, another cache was discovered in the Jorgachi Nutan Mohalla area of Chapainawabganj town. Local residents alerted law enforcement after noticing seven crude explosives lying scattered on the grass in front of an under-construction building near a three-way road intersection. Officers responded promptly, securing the site and recovering the unexploded devices.
Addressing the incidents, Additional Superintendent of Police Wasim Firoz confirmed that law enforcement agencies are actively investigating who stockpiled the explosives across these two locations and for what purpose. He added that necessary legal proceedings are currently underway, with police maintaining heightened vigilance across the district to prevent any potential security threats.
