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One killed, 56 hurt in blast at AL rally

STAFF CORRESPONDENT, Sylhet
At least one person was killed and over 56 were injured as a bomb went off at a rally of the main opposition Awami League (AL) in Derai in Sunamganj yesterday afternoon.
AL lawmaker and presidium member Suranjit Sengupta narrowly escaped injuries, as the bomb exploded just after he left the dais delivering his speech at 4:45.
Seriously injured 26 including district AL Vice-president Nurul Islam Sarder and Derai AL President Aftabuddin were on and around the dais and rushed to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital, while about 30 were taken to Derai Upazila Health Complex.
Abdul Wahid, 40, of Matargaon village succumbed to his wounds minutes after he was brought to Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College Hospital at 8:05pm. He was a driver of a motorised boat.
Several thousands of people attending the meeting ran helter-skelter after the explosion. As the news spread, panicked shopkeep-
ers closed their shutters.
The AL of Derai, which organised the rally demanding relief for the flood-affected people of the district, called a dawn-to-dusk hartal in the upazila for today.
A brief procession was also brought out in the upazila headquarters in the evening.
A police official said they had carried out a thorough check-up at the venue in the temple area using metal detector. He suspects assailants brought the bomb to the spot later.
Lawmaker Suranjit told newspersons that he was the target of the attack. Criminals responsible for the bomb attack on an AL election meeting in Shulla on September 26, 2001 are behind
this, he alleged.
Had the government probed that incident and taken action against the criminals, the recurrence would not take place, he said.
AL presidium member Abdus Samad Azad, meanwhile, raised the issue of the blast in parliament last night and sought prime minister's statement on this.
He said Suranjit in recent discussion in the House blasted the government for the defeat of Bangla-desh candidate in the election for the post of OIC secretary general. There might be a link between the incidents, he added.
In response, Local Government Rural Development and Cooperatives Minister and ruling BNP Secretary General Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan condemned the incident and assured the House that government will try to check recurrence of such incidents.
Bhuiyan told the House that after probing the incident, the real culprits will be awarded exemplary punishment.