A bomb-like device recovered near the entrance to Fakir Lalon Shah's shrine in Kumarkhali, Kushtia, bears similarities to one found beneath Dhaka's Motijheel metro rail station.
A senior official of the Dhaka Metropolitan Police's (DMP) Counter Terrorism and Transnational Crime (CTTC) unit confirmed the similarity to The Business Standard.
The similarity emerged after the CTTC bomb disposal team examined the device, with police investigating whether the same group was behind both incidents.
A Special Action Group (SAG) official of the CTTC told TBS that investigators were trying to identify those who placed the device near the shrine's entrance.
The official said militants released on bail could be involved and that extremist groups might be trying to establish bases outside Dhaka.
The official also said Bomaru Mizan had considerable expertise in making such devices, adding that his name had surfaced in several incidents in Dhaka and its surrounding areas.
Police had no prior intelligence about the device and learned of it after locals spotted the suspicious object and alerted them.
Police said the device was recovered around 1am today (19 October) beside a coconut tree on the right side of the shrine's entrance. It contained two bottles filled with petrol, iron pipes and electrical wires.
According to the police's preliminary account, Kumarkhali police went to the scene after receiving information about a suspicious bag and informed senior officials.
Devotees visiting the shrine were moved to another location to ensure their safety, police added.
A four-member CTTC team specialising in bomb disposal and explosives later arrived, led by Police Inspector Modasser Kaisar.
The team recovered two one-litre petrol bottles, two iron pipes measuring half an inch in diameter and four inches in length, and a device connected to electrical wires.
Kushtia Superintendent of Police Md Aminul Islam, Additional Superintendent of Police (Crime and Operations), Mirpur Circle, Additional Superintendent of Police Md Mahmudul Haque Majumder and other officials inspected the scene under the direction of Khulna Range DIG Rezaul Karim.
No one has been identified or arrested in connection with the incident.
Legal proceedings are under way at Kumarkhali Police Station. Police said the law and order situation in the area remained normal.
IED found inside umbrella in Motijheel
On 24 July, police recovered a bomb-like object from inside an abandoned umbrella beneath the Motijheel metro rail station after passers-by noticed a light inside it and alerted authorities.
The CTTC bomb disposal team neutralised the device through a controlled explosion. Investigators later confirmed that it was an improvised explosive device (IED) designed to pose an explosion risk if someone tried to open the umbrella.
A passer-by was injured by metal fragments during the disposal.
The CTTC, the DMP's Detective Branch and the SRB launched investigations. The CTTC later announced the arrest of suspected Jama'atul Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) member Ariful Islam in connection with IEDs recovered in Motijheel and Ashulia.