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Dhaka: A powerful explosion that destroyed an old three-storey building in a crowded area here in Bangladesh's capital and killed at least seven people and injured around 400 others may have been caused by a faulty gas line or gas cylinders, authorities said on Monday.

Police have ruled out any foul play behind the horrific explosion in Moghbazar area at around 7.30 PM on Sunday and said the initial investigation of the site suggests that the explosion might have been caused by "gas accumulation".

Authorities suspect the building that collapsed was the epicentre of the explosion as it had a restaurant and a faulty gas line or gas cylinders used by it could be the reason behind the blast.

The blast was so powerful that the shock wave smashed the glasses of nearly a dozen buildings around it.

Seven nearby buildings and two passenger buses were badly damaged in the blast that killed seven people and injured 400, some 50 of them critically, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Shafiqul Islam said late Sunday.

The severely injured were sent to Dhaka Medical College Hospital and Sheikh Hasina National Institute of Burn and Plastic Surgery.

The Dhaka Community hospital treated almost 300 victims, AZM Rahmatullah Shabuj, outdoor in charge of the hospital, said, adding that they treated victims who mostly had cuts in their bodies or their heads.

Most of them had cuts from the glass shards. Many had wounds in their heads, Sabuj said.

On the possibility of the explosion being deliberate, the Police Commissioner told bdnews, It doesn't look like that to me. If that was the case or had a bomb been exploded, people would've been ravaged by splinters."

I've gathered from the fire service personnel that gas had accumulated here," he said.

Fire Brigade chief Brigadier General Sajjad Hossain said primary evidence suggested that the explosion was triggered by a leak after the accumulation of gas.

There were gas cylinders at a restaurant at the ground floor of the building and air-conditioners at a showroom upstairs. There were gas cylinders also at the road construction site at the scene...investigations have been launched, Hossain said.

According to residents in the neighbourhood, the explosion rocked the part of the city spreading panic while television footage showed broken pillars, concrete and glass shards strewn across the street at the scene in the central part of the country's capital.

I was on a bus when the explosion occurred. I jumped out of it through a narrow window of the vehicle, initially thinking the bus gas cylinder exploded... never experienced such a big explosion in my life, 50-year-old Tajul Islam, who received injuries on his waist and complained of hearing impairment due to the explosion, told PTI.

Another witness said he saw a fireball go over his head and the explosion turned everything dark and smoky in his vicinity while pieces of glass started to shower from above.

The sound was so huge... it scared everyone, he told a TV channel.

According to witnesses, soon after the explosion the buses and cars crashed into one another and panic-gripped passengers struggled to get out of the vehicles.

Several residents of an apartment building in the area came downstairs following the explosion.

One of them, Mufakar Ul Islam, added: We are at a distance here. Still, several glasses of our apartment were shattered."

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Noida: India TV editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma has drawn sharp criticism on social media following remarks he made on air attributing Delhi’s air pollution partly to its geographical location and the Aravalli hill range.

Speaking during a recent episode of his prime-time show Aaj Ki Baat, Sharma said Delhi’s geography plays a major role in trapping polluted air.

“Geographical location is the main reason. Delhi is a big city and its shape is like a bowl, surrounded by the Aravalli hills on three sides. As a result, polluted air gets trapped and cannot disperse easily. Therefore, the problem of pollution in Delhi cannot be solved in one year or in any particular season,” he said.

His comments came amid a severe deterioration in air quality in the national capital. On Sunday morning, December 21, Delhi woke up to a thick blanket of toxic smog, sharply reducing visibility and causing widespread discomfort. The overall Air Quality Index (AQI) stood at 390 around 7 a.m., placing it in the ‘very poor’ category, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).

Dense fog and smog also disrupted flight operations at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA). As many as 110 flights were cancelled, while over 370 flights were delayed due to poor visibility. Of the cancelled services, 59 were arriving flights and 51 were departures. Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed that departing flights faced an average delay of around 26 minutes.

Netizens troll Sharma

One user wrote on X, “Rajat Sharma is saying due to the Aravalli hills, there is air pollution in Delhi. He is defending mining and destroying the Aravalli hills like this. How can these people call themselves journalists?”

Another user accused him of political hypocrisy, comparing his earlier criticism of the Delhi government with his current remarks, and wrote, “In 2023 he blamed Arvind Kejriwal for Delhi air pollution. In 2025, he is blaming the Aravalli hills because BJP is in power. Hypocrisy = 100%, Journalism = 00%.”

Others termed the comments an example of the “godi media” narrative, alleging that geography was being blamed instead of governance, industrial emissions, vehicular pollution, construction dust, and stubble burning. “When they fail to question power or policy, they conveniently shift the blame to nature,” another post read.

“Friends, what can one even say about today’s godi media? According to them, the reason for Delhi’s pollution is that the Aravalli hills surround the city from three sides, trapping polluted air inside. Seriously? So now Sudhir Chaudhary and Rajat Sharma want us to believe that nature itself is to blame? When they fail to question power or policy, they conveniently shift the blame to geography. Apparently, it’s not years of environmental destruction or administrative failure—it’s the Aravalli hills! Does this explanation make any sense at all?,” wrote another.

What is the Aravali issue?

The controversy arises over the Union government’s revised definition of what constitutes the Aravalli hills.

The decision has drawn protests involving environmental activists across Haryana, Rajasthan, and parts of the Delhi-NCR region, who have raised concerns that the new definition could weaken protection for one of the world’s oldest mountain ranges.

Under the revised definition, an “Aravalli hill” is described as any landform in designated Aravalli districts with an elevation of 100 metres or more above local relief, while an “Aravalli range” is defined as a cluster of two or more such hills within 500 metres of each other. Activists fear this could open the door for mining, construction, and commercial activities in previously protected areas.

Environmentalists argue that the Aravalli range serves as a natural barrier against desertification, dust storms, and pollution, and plays a vital role in maintaining ecological balance in the Delhi-NCR region.

They have demanded that the entire Aravalli range be declared a fully protected area with strict conservation measures.

Meanwhile, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav has stated that the new definition, accepted by the Supreme Court based on a Centre-led panel’s recommendations, would not result in any relaxation of mining norms in the Aravalli region.

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