CCTV camera catches bombing on bus in Dhaka

Dhaka:A closed-circuit police camera has recorded the bombing on a bus in Dhaka during the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP)-led opposition alliance's blockade.

Police claimed one of the attackers was killed in a "gunfight" at Mirpur's Technical intersection Sunday night, bdnews24.com reported Monday.

The footage shows two men on a motorcycle lobbing a crude bomb on an "Ashirbad Paribahan" bus at Mirpur-1 before fleeing the scene. One of them was wearing a helmet.

Mirpur police station officer Salah Uddin Khan claims the man driving the motorcycle was Wadud Bepari, convenor of pro-BNP Jatiyatabadi Sramik Dal's ward number 10 unit. Bepari's face could not be seen as he was wearing a helmet.

But Bepari's uncle Chan Mia claimed his nephew was a scrap-dealer and was involved with no political party.

However, the extent of damage and whether anyone was injured in the bombing was not clear. The bus slowed down for a while before driving on.

The incident took place Jan 25, police said.

The police officer claimed the man who lobbed the bomb was Rubel.

Police embargoed pillion riding after arson attacks increased since the BNP called an indefinite blockade Jan 5. More than 100 people have been killed in arson and bomb attacks since then.

Three days after the ban, several people were seen pillion riding in the police video.

The officer claimed Bepari was involved in three bombing incidents Jan 25, 29 and Feb 22. He further said police had video footage of the incidents.

He said local residents caught Bepari while he was attempting sabotage and handed him to police.0

"Bepari died in the gunfight," the police officer added.

Bepari's uncle, however, maintained that his nephew was not involved with bombings.

"He went out from his Tolarbagh home Sunday morning on his black motorcycle. We learned in the afternoon that police arrested him," he said.

A number of people have been killed in alleged gunbattles with police but the BNP claims they have been "killed in a planned manner".