POLITICS

If you want to play with blood, we'll play with blood too: Nahid Islam warns PM after cocktail blast at NCP rally in Savar

Cocktail blast struck an NCP rally in Savar during speeches; no immediate casualties. Nahid Islam blamed local administration, warned the PM.

FARABI SAIFULLAHPUBLISHED Jul 7, 2026 12:01 AM

NCP

BIONIC READING

In a Nutshell:

An explosion struck the rally site at the Eidgah ground next to Savar Thana Stand at around 9:45 pm, while Dhaka district NCP convener engineer Nabila Tasnid was speaking, according to NCP central member Yasir Arafat.
Several top NCP figures were on stage at the time, including Nahid Islam, MP Akhter Hossain, and northern-region chief organiser Sarjis Alam.
Nahid Islam explicitly accused the local administration of complicity, noting that the venue's power supply was intentionally cut off just as party leaders arrived at the scene.

The reported blast targets a rally of prominent political figures and echoes a pattern of violence the party has faced at public events.

With the NCP's most recognisable leaders gathered on one stage, an explosion at close range raises immediate questions about security at the party's public programmes, particularly for a party that now sits in parliamentary opposition.
This is not the first time an NCP gathering has been hit; attackers left five people dead at the party's Gopalganj rally in July 2025, and crude-bomb incidents were reported near its Dhaka office later that year, suggesting its events remain flashpoints.
The alleged cutting of the power grid alongside the administrative failure to protect opposition members points to a systemic weaponization of local infrastructure and security apparatuses against political parties.

The incident affects the party directly but also carries weight for the state's security apparatus and the wider political climate.

For a student-founded party built out of the 2024 uprising, an attack on its leadership at a public rally is both a security threat and a rallying point, as reflected in the immediate protest march
Attacks on political gatherings raise the risk of escalation and retaliation, affecting ordinary citizens' sense of safety at public events and testing the tone of political competition.
Grassroots members and senior executives must now navigate heightened physical risks during their July campaigns, balancing their commitment to public foot marches