Story highlights Suspect's wife "surprised to find out what her husband did"

Police: Suspect spoke to wife in Bangladesh 30 minutes before attempted attack

(CNN) The wife of the suspect in a pipe bomb explosion in New York was "surprised to find out what her husband did," police in Bangladesh told CNN, despite speaking to him 30 minutes before the attempted attack.

Akayed Ullah, who is accused of detonating a homemade explosive in a pedestrian subway tunnel at a bus terminal near Times Square, was born in Bangladesh but legally moved to the US in 2011.

His wife, who remained in Bangladesh when he moved Brooklyn, said he "never mentioned radicalization or planning these types of activities," Bangladeshi police spokeswoman Sahely Ferdous said.

"Akayed's conversations with her were very normal," Ferdous said. "Akayed talked to his wife around 30 minutes before the explosion, but he didn't mention anything about the plan or what he was going to do."

Ferdous added that she said Ullah's activities around his family were "very much normal. His wife didn't know anything about this side of Akayed," Ferdous said.