Dhaka, April 29: Bangladeshi police have arrested four people after one man was killed and four injured by a hand-made bomb thrown at spectators watching a music concert, police said Thursday.
The device was thrown late Wednesday into a 300-strong crowd at a concert in Benapole on the country’s western border to celebrate Bengali New Year, which falls in April, local police chief Aslam Khan told AFP.
“One young man aged around 25 years died in the blast. At least four others were injured but not seriously,” he said.
Khan said the bomb appeared to be hand-made and the blast could be linked to a local dispute, although he would not rule out the possibility that Islamic militants or outlawed Maoists were behind the attack.
The deputy police chief in Benapole, S.M Shafiullah, told AFP four people had been arrested.
Maoist groups have been active in the Benapole area around the Bangladesh-Indian border, and in the past have been involved in attacks on journalists and local politicians in Bangladesh.
Until a major crackdown in 2006, members of banned Islamic groups threw bombs and grenades at musical and cultural events that left dozens killed, as part of a campaign against what they said were anti-Islamic activities.
—Agencies