A bomb scare at a filling station in Sonargaon, Narayanganj, sparked widespread panic for over two hours on Saturday night until a specialist unit determined that a suspicious bag contained nothing but old clothes.
The incident occurred at the United Filling Station in Nayapara area of Kanchpur union, situated along the Dhaka-Chattogram highway.
According to police and filling station sources, a woman left a locked bag at the station around 6:30pm on Saturday and did not return.
Suspicious of the abandoned luggage, staff eventually alerted the authorities.
Police and the Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) reached the scene around 12:30am to secure the area.
As a precautionary measure, traffic on the Dhaka-Chattogram highway was suspended for about 30 minutes, leading to significant tailbacks on both sides of the road as crowds of onlookers gathered.
The Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) Bomb Disposal Unit arrived at 2am and used specialised equipment to inspect the bag.
Around 2:15am, the bag was opened, revealing there were no explosives inside. Following the discovery, traffic movement on the highway was returned to normal.
Narayanganj Superintendent of Police (SP) Mizanur Rahman Munshi confirmed that the bag contained old, torn clothes, a purse, a National Identity Card (NID), and a professional driving licence.
The NID belonged to Rekha Begum, a resident of Kalyanpur Madhupur area in Belkuchi upazila, Sirajganj, while the driving licence was in the name of her husband, Md Mosharraf Sarkar.
The SP added that an investigation is underway to determine the purpose behind leaving the bag at the station.
