NIA to probe crude bomb recovery in South 24 Parganas district
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken control of the investigation into the sensational recovery of 79 crude bombs from the Bhangar area in the South 24 Parganas district.
The recoveries come barely 48 hours before polling on April 29, prompting the Election Commission to issue a 24-hour ultimatum to the State police for action against bomb-makers and to hand over all such cases to the NIA.
Acting on orders from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), NIA registered a fresh case on April 26, taking over the original FIR No. 62/2026 filed at Uttar Kashipur Police Station.
As of now, no arrests have been made in the primary RC-25 case, but the probe is focusing on sourcing of explosives, possible terror links and conspirators.
The seizures of crude bombs occurred on April 25, when a police team from North Kashipur police station, acting on specific intelligence, raided an abandoned house near a burial ground at Poilepara under the Bhangar Division.
The police team recovered 79 round-shaped objects, each tied with jute ropes and suspected to be crude bombs, along with other bomb-making materials.
The MHA described the storage as a direct threat to human lives and property, explicitly noting the intent to create fear and terror in the minds of the people.
Officials believe the case qualifies as a Scheduled Offence under the National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 and could involve a larger conspiracy with implications for national security.
The Bhangar area is notorious for political violence and crude-bomb usage.
Trinamool Congress candidate Saokat Molla is locked in a fierce contest with ISF chief Nawsad Siddique, with the seat having flippedto the Opposition in 2021.
Tensions rose further in the areas on April 26 as an additional 100 crude bombs were found in the same Uttar Kashipur-Chelegoalia belt, allegedly linked to a house belonging to a TMC worker.
NIA has arrested Ahidul Islam Molla, also referred to as Wahidul Islam Molla, a key accused in a March 2026 explosion in nearby West Bamunia village.
That blast, which occurred while crude bombs were being assembled, killed one person and injured three, including a TMC booth president.
Molla, who had been absconding, was assaulted by locals upon hissudden return and handed over to the police. Investigators now plan to question him in the fresh Bhangar case as well.
The NIA’s swift intervention underscores the MHA’s assessment that the Bhangar haul is not mere local law-and-order problem but potentially part of a wider network aimed at destabilising the polls.
Central forces are already deployed across the region for security.
Bhangar’s history of recurring clashes between ruling-party workers and Opposition factions has turned the area into a tinderbox during every election cycle.
This latest episode has only heightened fears of violence as voters head to the booths to cast their votes on April 29.
The NIA is expected to file its first status report in court soon. with officials emphasising a zero-tolerance approach to poll-related explosives.
For residents of Bhangar, the message is clear that the Centre is watching, and the era of unchecked crude-bomb politics may not be allowed anymore.
