At least three people were killed and several injured in a blast at a Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader's home in West Bengal's East Medinipur. This comes ahead of TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee's rally in the district on Saturday.
The incident took place in Bhupatinagar area, only 1.5 km from Contai town where TMC national general secretary Abhishek is scheduled to address a public meeting, according to reports. “The cause of the blast is yet to be ascertained and further investigation is underway but the impact was so powerful that the mud house with a thatched roof was blown off in the incident,” a senior police officer of Contai sub-division said.
Responding to the incident, BJP national vice president Dilip Ghosh held TMC responsible and said that “only bomb-making industry is flourishing in the state”. Senior CPI (M) leader Sujan Chakraborty questioned why was Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee silent on such incidents and demanded a statement from her.
Bengal is expected to witness high-voltage drama on Saturday as opposition leader Suvendu Adhikari is also scheduled to address a meeting at Diamond Harbour, Abhishek's Lok Sabha constituency. Contai, where Abhishek will address a meeting, is said to be Suvendu's bastion. Earlier on Friday, Suvendu had alleged that the TMC was trying to disrupt his rally despite the Calcutta High Court's order. He also warned that BJP workers would hit the streets if the rally was disrupted, ANI reported.
Suvendu had also moved the HC against Abhishek's rally at a venue less than 200 metres from his residence. In his plea, he claimed that the rally would affect peace in the area. The HC, however, granted conditional permission and ordered the police to ensure that no one creates any form of inconvenience to the Adhikari family.
Both parties are gearing up for the panchayat polls in the state scheduled to be held early next year.
-with agency inputs
