A powerful explosion ripped through the Ummal Qura International Madrasa in Dhaka’s South Keraniganj Hasnabad area on Friday morning, blowing off walls in two rooms of a single-storey building and injuring four family members, including women and children.
Police recovered cocktail explosives, chemicals, incendiary materials, and various bomb-making equipment from the site, raising concerns about potential illicit activities at the premises.
The blast occurred around 10:30am on Friday, demolishing walls on the western side, causing cracks in the roof, beams, and adjacent rooms, and even damaging a neighbouring building. Eyewitnesses described a loud bang that triggered panic, but no fatalities occurred as the madrasa—with 30-35 students—was closed for the Friday holiday.
Local residents rushed to the scene after hearing the explosion. One anonymous Hasnabad resident recounted: “At around 10:30am yesterday, we suddenly heard a loud bang. When I ran to the site, I saw that the walls around two rooms on the western side of the madrasa had been blown away. The walls of the two rooms in the single-storey building completely collapsed, and cracks appeared in the roof and beams. Two adjacent rooms also developed cracks.”
Neighbour Humayun Kabir added: “The explosion cracked parts of our building. Furniture inside the rooms also collapsed.”
The madrasa’s layout included three rooms for educational activities on one side and living quarters for the director’s family on the opposite.
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Injured were madrasa director Sheikh Al Amin, 32, his wife, Achiya Begum, 28, and two of their sons, Umayet, 10, and Abdullah, 7. Achiya and the children received initial treatment at a local hospital before referral to Dhaka Medical College Hospital for advanced care.
The madrasa has operated for three years under Mufti Harun, who entrusted daily management to his brother-in-law, Sheikh Al Amin and Achiya. Harun visited occasionally.
Building owner Parveen Begum expressed shock: “For the past three years, Mufti Harun ran the madrasa in my rented house. Harun entrusted the management of the madrasa to his brother-in-law, Al Amin, and Al Amin’s wife, Achiya. Harun used to visit the madrasa occasionally, and I would check in regularly. But I never realised what activities were happening behind the madrasa’s walls. Today, I see that the walls of the building have been blown away. The police have recovered chemicals, cocktail explosives, and bomb-making equipment from inside the building.”
South Keraniganj police station Officer-in-Charge Saiful Alam confirmed a bomb disposal team was actively working at the site, with operations ongoing. He stated that crude bomb explosives, incendiary materials, and bomb-making equipment had been recovered. A general diary (GD) entry was filed, and the crime scene investigation team, alongside the bomb disposal unit, is determining the exact cause.
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