The death toll rose to nine within hours, as two more died at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital (DMCH).

Shilpi, the 18-year-old from Kashipara, Patuakhali who is the only female victim of the bomb blast, is now fighting for life at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University. Shilpi came to Dhaka to visit her relative at Indira Road on the occasion of the Bangla New Year.

Just before 8:00am, as the Chhayanaut programme neared end at the Ramna Batamul, a group of about half a dozen men started pushing their way from the southern side of the stage, hardly ten feet away from the press gallery. According to a number of witnesses, one of them held 'a gift box wrapped in silver and red papers'.

A bamboo barrier, erected to separate the sitting spectators from the standing ones, slowed down the group's progress. Nearly 15 feet from the main dais, the intruders started pushing one another, sometimes keeping the 'gift box' aloft.

At exactly 8:05am, a huge explosion rocked the area and smoke started to pour out into the air.

"For a few minutes we thought one of the large sound boxes exploded or an electric short-circuit caused an explosion. Nobody even thought for a second that a bomb had gone off," said Tajul, who sat 15 feet away from the spot of the blast.

Witnesses said although the performers and the child artistes on the dais looked shaken for a few minutes, someone appealed to the audience through the loudspeaker to stay calm, as 'they planned to continue the function.'

Minutes later, as the smoke cleared, the extent of the devastation became clear. Seven people lay dead, their bodies showing horrendous injuries. Also, there were about 20 people, injured and pleading for help.

Within minutes shocked and panic-stricken people started leaving the area. Hundreds of thousands of people, unaware of the terrible explosion at the Batamul, started to pour into the celebration arena that stretched over the entire length of Ramna Park, Suhrawardy Uddyan and Shahbagh. The main roads remained swarmed with people in festive mood. Even on-duty policemen near the Baishakhi Gate were not aware of the explosion.

Before the police arrived at the scene, some volunteers took up the responsibility of sending the injured for medical attention. They grabbed rickshaw-vans from outside the gate and took the injured to the hospitals. Meanwhile, a police van from the Ramna police station arrived there to pick up the injured. As police tried to help the injured a second explosion took place which injured sub-inspector Shariful and two others.

The badly deformed bodies of the seven victims lay amidst shocked onlookers and volunteers when riot policemen arrived. Some plain-clothed policemen were seen trying to contact higher officials over phone and wireless sets.

About an hour later, an ambulance of the Fire Service arrived to remove the dead. At least two of the bodies were so badly mutilated that the ambulance men needed to wrap them up before boarding the vehicle.

The injured and the dead removed, riot policemen cordoned off the area while some police officials started to pick up bits and pieces of the carnage. The area was littered with shoes, slippers, optical glasses, watches and bits and pieces of cloths.

The evidences included the remainder of the bomb, which looked like a metal water pipe about six inches long with two inches in diameter. A part of the gift pack was also found.

From the pockets of the dead, police also recovered an application to the Home Minister by an unnamed person from Dohar, under Keraniganj thana. The application pleaded with the minister to help the person withdraw a false case under the Public Safety Act. Also found was the photocopy of a First Information Report (FIR). Police also found several telephone numbers including a mobile number, which The Daily Star also obtained.

Meanwhile, at round 10:45am two army officers of bomb disposal unit arrived there and declared a discarded container on the ground harmless. But a police officer soon informed the unit that an abandoned packet was found near the Baishakhi Gate. The army experts rushed to the gate and defused the bomb as thousands of people looked on.

The explosion seemed to have baffled the police officials. Some of them said that a suicide squad had carried out the bombing, while others said the explosive had gone off accidentally. A top police official said that the powerful "pipe bomb" was strapped to the body of the bomber when it went off.

"We found wires around the body of a victim," said a plain-clothed police official.

The army experts refused to make any comment on the type of the bomb. "We would have to examine everything to be able to determine the nature of the bomb," said a major of the armed forces.

As hundreds of thousands of people started to pour in to celebrate the Bangla New Year, police and other security agencies checked different premises with metal detectors.

Hundreds of anxious relatives poured into the DMCH to look for their dear ones.

Police strongly believe that some of the dead and injured are the members of the gang which carried out the explosion. Police arrested three of the injured from the Combined Medical Hospital yesterday where they had been shifted from the DMCH. Police said as per confession of one of the injured, they arrested Swadhin, a student of Dhaka College and an active member of Jamaat-Shibir. (The Daily Star)