Police yet to identify bottle thrower

Police are yet to identify the man who threw what locals said was a molotov cocktail at idols of a puja mandap in the capital's Tanti Bazar on Friday night.

Enamul Haque Khan, officer-in-charge of Kotwali Police Station, police will decide whether to file a case over the matter after consulting higher authorities.

The Tanti Bazar Puja Udjapon Committee has said it will not file cases, he added.

Kotwali police, however, yesterday accused three men, now in custody, in a case of mugging at Tantibazar Puja Mandap No 17 from where police recovered a bottle filled with what officers suspect was kerosene.

In a security camera footage the puja organisers showed reporters, a man in a white shirt is throwing an object at idols before running away. The man's face is not seen in the video and it is not clear what he had thrown. The idols were unharmed in the incident that happened around 8:00pm.

Chandan Kumar Dey, president of the Puja Udjapan Committee, said, "Some of our volunteers pursued him and caught him. But he stabbed them with a sharp weapon and got away."

The injured, Jhontu Dhar, 45, Shagor Ghosh, 38, Khokon Dhar, 35, Dipto Dey, 26, and Ramijuddin, were admitted to Mitford Hospital, locals said. Khokon was taken to the hospital's intensive care unit yesterday.

"We need to collect CCTV footage from nearby areas to get a clear view of the suspect," said OC Enamul.

Jashim Uddin, deputy commissioner (Lalbagh), said, "There is an allegation that a bottle was thrown at the mandap. There was also an incident of mugging. We are investigating whether these are related," he told The Daily Star.

Around 3:00pm yesterday, residents kept a road in Tanti Bazar blocked for almost two hours, demanding arrest and exemplary punishment of those responsible for the attack.

Police are yet to identify the man who threw what locals said was a molotov cocktail at idols of a puja mandap in the capital's Tanti Bazar on Friday night.