Police later said it was a firecracker and that the incident had been blown up by the media. Reports of the incident created somewhat of a flutter among the members of the Indian delegation but both Indian and Bangladesh officials played down the incident and said ‘life was normal’.

Safe and sound: President Pranab Mukherjee receives an honorary doctorate of law for his noteworthy contributions to Bangladesh’s Liberation War. Hours before the convocation, reports emerged that a bomb had been hurled outside Mukherjee’s hotel. Pic/AFP