Close on the heels of the Pingla blast in West Midnapore where 12 people were killed, allegedly while making hand bombs, at least 25 people were injured in the wee hours of Monday when a bag full of bombs went off inside Sealdah-Krishnanagar local train at Titagarh Railway Station in Sealdah Division of North 24-Parganas. “The incident happened about 3.50 am,” said Eastern Railway CPRO RN Mahapatra, adding that seven people were discharged after administering first-aid.
While police made guarded statements, eyewitnesses said the accident happened after fish vendors, who take the morning train, objected to a “suspicious person” boarding the train with a bag at Titagarh station.
A scuffle ensued and the bombs went off leaving many passengers injured. “This is a regular affair and we have to take the morning trains under great risk,” said a fish seller, adding that the bomb suppliers carried the explosives during the wee hours as the trains are less crowded during morning hours.
The Barrackpore-Titagarh-Naihati-Kalyani region had of late become a hub for illegal arms trading, gang-wars among local dons, apparently controlled by the local TMC legislators.
“Bengal is virtually sitting on the powder keg and no amount of police complaints have worked. These bombs are often ferried from one place to another for political use. large number of bombs were used to terrorise the voters during the recently-concluded civic elections,” said CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakrabarty.
He also added that if the Election Commission does not take note of the worsening situation the General elections next year would be much worse.
Congress’ Abdul Mannan said the goons were manufacturing and transporting bombs even before the Trinamool Congress was planning to pull forward the elections to December as it would have been a little difficult for them to transport the explosives when the Central Force takes control of the areas.
Incidentally, the May 8 Pingla blast which was readily dismissed as a cracker factory accident by the CID saw bodies blown, tossed and hurtled 100 metres away and about 60 feet high on tree tops. A second blast on May 10 pulled down a concrete house at Raina in Burdwan district. On April 5 there was a low-intensity blast at Belur Math headquarters of Ramakrishna Mission.
Another blast had taken place at Borogoira in Burdwan district on January 2. There were at least four blasts late last year in Birbhum and other places, including the infamous Khagragarh blast that blew the lid off a deep-rooted conspiracy to assassinate some foreign politicians.
“In most cases the blasts have Trinamool Congress involvement which is why the Government is not taking things seriously” said Mannan, while a BJP release demanded NIA enquiry into Monday’s incident. The BJP had demanded an NIA probe in the Pingla blast as well.