DHAKA: Bangladesh authorities are investigating an alleged link between army officers and a bomb aimed at a ruling party lawmaker who is a close relative of the prime minister, officials said Tuesday.

Home Minister Sahara Khatun said all leads were being investigated — including media reports that army officers were behind the attacks — over the bombing in the capital last month, which wounded at least 15 people.

‘I can't make a comment since the matter is being investigated, but if they (army officers) are found to be involved in the incident they will be punished,’ she said.

Police have said Fazle Noor Tapash, 35, who is an MP and also a lawyer working on a high-profile court case on behalf of the state, was the target of the October 21 attack. He escaped uninjured.

English-language newspaper The Daily Star said four captains and a major were detained last week and six other army officers were dismissed for alleged links to the blast.

The government has repeatedly said there is a link between the recent bombing and the 1975 killing of the country's founding leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the father of current premier Sheikh Hasina.

Five men convicted of killing Rahman — known as Sheikh Mujib — are appealing their 2001 verdicts in the high court. The case is coming to a close and Hasina has urged her party to stay united and on alert.

Tapash, who is related to Hasina, is representing the state in the case.

Sheikh Mujib was Bangladesh's first president after leading the country to independence following a bloody nine-month war against Pakistan in 1971.

He, along with 20 members of his household, including Tapash's father, were murdered by army officers in a coup.