Fear gripped the City of Joy ahead of Durga Puja festival after a blast near Kolkata airport claimed the life of a seven-year-old and injured 12 others.
The incident comes four years after an accidental blast killed two militants in Burdwan where four militants, belonging to Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen (JMB), and their wives were making explosives. JMB is a militant outfit based in Bangladesh.
The Burdwan explosion, which took place on October 2, 2014, exposed the terror modules of JMB in West Bengal. It was found that about 60 such modules were set up by JMB in different districts of the state.
Four years later, the blast at Nagerbazar, Kolkata's northern suburbs, is arousing many suspicions. This was not a low intensity blast as claimed by police. A boy, Bibhash Ghosh, was killed, and 12 people, including the boy's mother Sita, sustained serious injuries in the explosion. According to hospital authorities, the condition of Sita is critical. Almost all the houses and apartments in the vicinity felt the intensity of the blast, with windows of several houses damaged.
Though the CID has been entrusted with the job of investigation, NIA officials in Kolkata were also pressed into action. CID of West Bengal is the nodal agency of the NIA in the state. After receiving data and initial input from the CID, the NIA would decide if it is necessary to send a special team to Kolkata.
The NIA is already probing the Burdwan blast and have made series of arrests in the last four years, including that of one of the masterminds of JMB, Kaushar Shiekh, known as amir of the organisation.
The IB had recently informed the West Bengal home department of possible terror strikes to mar Durga Puja celebrations. The Central agency had also sent a report on possible attacks on Kolkata metro railway which runs almost entirely underground.
The place where the blast occurred is merely two kilometres away from the metro station. Besides, preliminary investigation found that a 50-member team was at a guest house near the airport area, but fled shortly after the incident.
"Police need to interrogate the guest house owners along with local people. They would have to see the CCTV in the area, if available. We are sure the bombs were not meant for explosion on that day and in fact was heading for another place," said an officer of the state intelligence branch.
Meanwhile, a political blame game between the Trinamool Congress and BJP erupted with two senior ministers—Jyotipriyo Mullick and Purnendu Bose—rushing to the spot and blaming the saffron party and the RSS for the incident. The BJP shot back, saying the blast was perhaps the handiwork of former Naxals like Bose who are now members of the Trinamool Congress.
