Police have arrested 17 leaders and activists of the banned Awami League over cocktail explosions at two court premises in Jessore over the past two days.
They were arrested during separate drives across eight upazilas of the district on Friday and Saturday. They were later shown arrested in a case filed under the Explosives Act and sent to jail following court orders.
The arrestees include party leaders and activists from district, upazila and union-level units.
Earlier on November 12, Sub-Inspector Raisul Islam of Kotwali Police Station filed the case under the Explosives Act, naming 21 people and several unidentified others.
Police have since been conducting special drives in the town and different upazilas to arrest those involved.
According to the case statement, around 8:50pm on Thursday, SI Raisul Islam was on duty with other police personnel in front of Jessore Railway Station when he received information about crude bomb explosions at two locations, in front of the Assistant Judge Court gate, southeast of the District and Sessions Judge Court, and behind the Chief Judicial Magistrate Court building.
Around 9pm, police visited the Assistant Judge Court premises and recovered fragments of an exploded tin container and two pieces of black adhesive tape.
Earlier, at around 8:35pm, a crude bomb had been thrown from Paris Road towards the rear of the court building. It landed inside the premises, to the right of the rear entrance, and exploded with a loud bang.
Police recovered six ball bearings, two pieces of black adhesive tape and two fragments of the exploded tin container from the spot.
Police said eight people were arrested on Friday.
They are Moniruzzaman Lablu, an Awami League leader from Sujalpur village in Jessore Sadar; Lavlu, son of Abdul Majid of Bhagabatipur in Narendrapur union; Kazi Bakerul Islam Iran, son of Kazi Abdul Mannan of Chanchra Raypara; Arman Hossain Rizvi, son of Lutfur Rahman of Dharmatala; Dalim Hossain, son of the late Fazlul Haque of the area behind Bockchar L Market; Abdul Alim Gazi; Shariful Islam; and Sanowar Hossain.
On Saturday, police arrested eight more people during drives in Jhikargachha and Jessore Sadar upazilas.
They are Hriday Islam, son of the late Hafizur Islam of Shashtitala; former district Awami League member Kazi Alamgir Hossain; Jhikargachha upazila Awami League General Secretary Musa Mahmud; Awami League member Shahiduzzaman Selim; Khairuzzaman Bappy of Chanchra Raypara; former Chanchra union Jubo League General Secretary Badsha Faisal; Azizul Islam of Kholadanga; and Sohel Rana of Talbaria village.
Officer-in-Charge of Jessore Kotwali Police Station Kabir Hossain said 17 people had been arrested over the explosions at the two court premises in the past two days.
"All the arrestees are active members of the banned Awami League. They are carrying out such subversive activities to disrupt public order and destabilise Jessore. Drives are underway to arrest others involved in the incidents," he said.
He added that the arrestees had been shown arrested in the explosives case and sent to jail through court orders.
Meanwhile, apart from the two court premises, crude bombs were also exploded in front of the July Memorial in the Bakultala area of the town on Thursday night.
In a separate incident, miscreants hurled two crude bombs at the house of Shimul Hossain, education affairs secretary of the Sadar upazila BNP unit, in Chhatiantala village.
Neither of the bombs exploded. The following morning, police recovered the two unexploded crude bombs and a handwritten note from the house. The note contained a death threat against the BNP leader.
The series of explosions at different locations in the town and its outskirts on the same night triggered panic among residents.
