An explosion occurred near the main gate of the Barishal Judge Court premises this morning, triggering panic among litigants and the general public. After the explosion took place around 10:32am with a loud bang, Police's Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and Detective Branch (DB) personnel rushed to the scene and cordoned off the area. It was not a major explosion, Barishal Metropolitan Police Commissioner Abu Saleh Mohammad Raihan said, adding that police initially suspected that it was a crude bomb blast. The blast briefly disrupted normal court proceedings, according to our correspondent at the scene. Additional police have been deployed on the court premises.