Unidentified miscreants hurled a petrol bomb at Khulna Nagar Bhaban, the administrative headquarters of the Khulna City Corporation, late on Sunday night, 15 November. The crude incendiary device landed squarely in the middle of the building’s grand front staircase at around 12:30 am, detonating on impact and sparking immediate flames. Swift intervention by on-duty security personnel, however, prevented the blaze from spreading into the main structure, averting any major damage or casualties.
According to police and local passers-by, the attack occurred under the cover of darkness when traffic along the surrounding city streets had thinned considerably. Taking advantage of the late-night quiet, assailants approached the prominent civic landmark and threw the petrol bomb towards the front entrance. The explosion shattered the stillness of the night, sending flames flickering across the wide steps and startling the few pedestrians nearby as well as staff stationed inside the compound.
Disaster was narrowly avoided thanks to the rapid response of the building’s security guards. Alerted by the loud blast and the sudden glow of fire at the entrance, the personnel rushed to the staircase and doused the flames within moments. Because the fire was extinguished almost immediately, the blaze failed to reach the interior offices, vital civic records, or upper floors of the municipal complex. No injuries were reported in connection with the incident.
Officers from Khulna Police Station arrived at the scene shortly after receiving reports of the explosion to inspect the site and gather preliminary evidence. Confirming the attack, Sub-Inspector (SI) Ashraf Hossain of Khulna Police Station said law enforcement personnel reached the compound promptly upon being notified. He noted that the petrol bomb had been thrown onto the middle section of Nagar Bhaban’s large front staircase, adding that rapid efforts to put out the fire ensured it could not spread any further.
As the nerve centre of municipal governance and public service delivery in the southwestern divisional city, Khulna Nagar Bhaban remains a high-profile public installation visited by hundreds of citizens daily. Targeting such a key administrative building late at night has raised fresh concerns regarding security across the metropolitan area. Following the incident, police stepped up vigilance and patrolling around the civic headquarters and adjacent thoroughfares while launching inquiries to identify those behind the arson attempt.
