<i>Bomb kept in school drawer</i>

Nishat, Sayem, Ayon -- class VI students of BCIC School and College, Mirpur -- are being treated at city hospitals yesterday. They suffered severe injuries as a cocktail exploded in their classroom. Photo: Palash Khan

Three schoolboys were injured in the capital's Mirpur area yesterday afternoon when a home-made bomb exploded in their classroom.
Police suspect criminals might have kept the bomb (cocktail) there sometime earlier and the students just fell victim to their curiosity.
Victims Saifur Rahman Sayem, Rafshad Jan Nishat and Mohammad Ayon, all around 12 years old, are students of class VI of BCIC School and College. They come from lower-income families.
Sayem sustained injuries to the right wrist, fingers and abdomen while Nishat to his eyes, left hand and left shoulder and Ayon was hurt in the hands and different parts of the body.
Sayem and Nishat are now undergoing treatment at Pongu hospital while Ayon at Suhrawardy Hospital. Hospital sources said the boys got several splinters in their bodies.
On-duty doctors said they are yet to ascertain the gravity of the injuries as the victims were first admitted to local hospitals where the doctors bandaged their wound as first aid.
Talking to The Daily Star at Pongu hospital, Sayem said, “We got to our class on the first floor late and hence took our seats in the last row. When I pulled out the drawer of the bench I found something wrapped in black tape. I took it out and it caught the eyes of Nishat and Ayon. They wanted to see it. All of a sudden the 'thing' exploded in our hands.”
Nishat said the blast made very loud noise and caused heavy smoke.
Anisur Rahman, officer-in-charge of Shah Ali Police Station, after visiting the spot and talking to witnesses came to the conclusion that the bomb was quite powerful.
Mizanur Rahman, a class-VII student of the school, who was in another classroom on the third floor, said hearing the explosion around 1:00pm, he ran down to the spot and found three bloodstained boys crying.
Meanwhile, Nasir Mahmud, assistant headmaster of the school, suspects that one or two SSC test examinees might have left the bomb in the classroom as the examination was being held before regular classes began.