The bombing attack at Dhaka Science Lab was targeted at the police, said Dhaka Metropolitan Police (DMP) chief Asaduzzaman Mia.
His remarks came while addressing the media at the DMP headquarters on Sunday (Sept 1).
“We collected evidence immediately after the bombs exploded at around 9 pm,” he said.
“It initially appeared to be an Improvised Explosive Device (IED). The terrorists carried out the attack with the police as targets,” he added.
The commissioner said that CCTV footages of surrounding areas have been collected and they are trying to gather more evidence and witnesses.
He declined to make further comments as the incident was still under investigation.
Responding to queries on the matter, Mia said that the attacks on Gulisthan Police Box three months ago, followed by the one on a police vehicle at Malibagh and then the discovery of bombs near police boxes at Paltan and Khamarbari in July all indicate the police are the targets.
He said that the terrorist network was rendered weak after the 2016 attack at Gulshan’s Holey Artisan Bakery and “it’s normal that they have a vendetta against the police.”
Mia added that the police are being targeted possibly because the terrorists have failed to turn Bangladesh into another Pakistan, Afghanistan or Syria.
On whether there was any progress on the Gulisthan and Malibagh attacks, he said that significant progress has been made but for the sake of the investigation nothing regarding the suspects or arrests can be revealed.
“A timer was set on the bomb that exploded at Gulisthan and the one placed inside the police vehicle at Malibagh was remote controlled. We have ample evidence for that,” he said.
Saying that terrorism is a global issue, he added that it is being probed whether it is indeed Islamic State carrying out the attacks or part of an internal conspiracy.

Also Read:
Crude bomb attack injures 2 policemen in Dhaka
IS claims responsibility for attack on police
Case started over Science Lab attack
Science Lab attack might be a test case: Quader