A development that could naturally put the Election Commission of India on an alert, the police have come to know from the suspects arrested in Sunday’s explosive hauls case that the huge consignment of explosives seized from Kolkata were ‘meant for use in Bengal.’
More than 600 kg of ammonium nitrate and sulphur contained in 22 gunny bags were recovered by the CID from Kolkata’s busy Burra Bazar area days after similar consignments were seized and two suspects arrested from Raghunathganj in Murshidabad district.
According to sources, after a marathon interrogation of Pankaj — the manager of the storehouse from where the explosives were recovered and a prime suspect — arrested on Sunday the police have come to know that the explosives were meant for Bengal.
When asked as to whether they suspected any terror angle related to last year’s Khagragarh blast, sources said “till nothing of that sort has been found.” On whether the ‘materials’ were part of the bigger consignments that were being stored in various parts of the State for use political in battles the officials refused to reply.
If whatever has been claimed by Pankaj was true then the ECI should be high on alert, political observers said adding “what had happened during the 2013 Panchayat polls, 2014 general elections and this what had happened during the 2013 Panchayat polls, 2014 general elections and this year’s civic elections were just trailers of what is going to happen in the next year’s Assembly pollsyear’s civic elections were just trailers of what is going to happen in the next year’s Assembly polls. Sunday’s haul only confirms the often repeated claims that Bengal is literally sitting on powder keg,” said Abhiroop Banerjee, an analyst.