A 21-year-old man, Siam Majumdar, was killed instantly when unidentified assailants hurled a powerful crude bomb (commonly known as a cocktail) from the Moghbazar flyover onto the road in front of a church below on Wednesday evening, just hours before Christmas celebrations.
The explosion occurred around 7:10pm in front of the Assemblies of God Church, a prominent Christian place of worship just beside the Central Command Council of Muktijoddha Sangsad on New Eskaton Road.
The media widely mentioned Muktijoddha Sangsad as the place of occurrence, apparently to save the Jamaat-controlled interim government from global condemnation.
Siam, a resident of Dighelia in Khulna who worked at a local motor car decoration shop, was standing nearby when the bomb struck him directly on the head. Hatirjheel police recovered his body and sent it to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for autopsy.
Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) described the incident as “planned terrorism” aimed at creating fear and panic among the public, though preliminary investigations have not confirmed a specific motive.
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This cowardly attack, targeting a busy area near a church on the eve of Christmas—a sacred day for Bangladesh’s Christian community—must be unequivocally condemned as an act of lawlessness and potential communal intimidation. Throwing explosives into crowded streets endangers innocent lives and sows terror, undermining the nation’s commitment to religious harmony and public safety.
The incident fits into an alarming pattern of persistent persecution against religious minorities, particularly Christians, since the political upheaval in August 2024. Human rights organisations, including Open Doors and the Bangladesh Hindu Buddhist Christian Unity Council, have documented thousands of attacks on minorities, including over 2,000 incidents targeting homes, businesses, and places of worship.
Churches have been bombed (such as at Holy Rosary and St. Mary’s Cathedral recently), vandalised, and burned; Christian homes looted; and believers pressured to renounce their faith or forced into hiding. Radical elements have exploited the instability to target vulnerable communities, often with impunity.
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Such mobocracy and targeted violence against minorities—whether through arson, bombings, or threats—represent a grave threat to Bangladesh’s secular fabric and democratic aspirations. All political leaders, civil society, and the interim authorities must strongly denounce these acts, ensure swift justice for perpetrators, and provide robust protection for religious minorities. Failure to curb this cycle of lawlessness risks further eroding public trust and deepening divisions in society.
Police have intensified patrols, collected CCTV footage, and appealed for public information via nearby stations or the national emergency line 999. Detective branches are working to identify those responsible.
The Christian community, already celebrating festivals under heightened security, now faces renewed fear amid these escalating threats. Bangladesh cannot progress toward stability and prosperity while innocent citizens live under the shadow of such barbaric attacks.
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