West Bengal: 7-year-old killed, another injured while playing with crude bomb
Police and the Criminal Investigation Department’s bomb disposal squad recovered another unexploded crude bomb from the same spot in Barrackpore
A seven-year-old boy was killed while a 10-year-old was seriously injured after a country-made bomb exploded when they mistook it for a ball near Barrackpore, around 35 km north of Kolkata, on Tuesday morning.
The injured boy was first rushed to the Bhatpara state general hospital from where he was referred to the Calcutta Medical College. Police and the Criminal Investigation Department’s bomb disposal squad recovered another unexploded crude bomb from the same spot. They explosives were hidden in a bush along the railway tracks.
“The incident happened around 6:30 am and 7am on Tuesday. Locals said that two children were playing when the bomb exploded. They mistook the bomb as a ball. The police have started an investigation,” said a senior official of the Government Railway Police (GRP) from Naihati.
“My grandson woke up in the morning and went out to play along the railway tracks. As it was Kali Puja last night, he and his friend were trying to find out if there were any unburnt firecrackers which they may use later today. His hand was ripped apart in the explosion,” said the injured child’s grandmother.
Several areas such as Kakinada, Bhatpara and Jagatdal in the Barrackpore Lok Sabha constituency are located within the industrial belt of the town. They have made headlines several times for political clashes between the ruling Trinamool Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Barrackpore MP and former state BJP vice-president Arjun Singh returned to the TMC earlier this year. He had joined the BJP ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. In September 2021, bombs were also hurled at Singh’s house. His close aide Manish Shukla was shot dead in October 2020.
Tuesday’s incident triggered a political slugfest with the BJP attacking the ruling TMC alleging deterioration of law and order in the state.
“Once can find bombs and firearms across West Bengal now. Once these were manufactured at Munger in Bihar, but now they are done here. All these will be used during the 2023 panchayat elections to silence the opposition. This proves how bloody the election could be,” said Sukanta Majumdar, BJP state president.
“There are rumours that Majumdar may not continue as the state BJP president for long, hence he is making such statements for limelight. The police are investigating. The number of such incidents have dropped over time in that area,” said Kunal Ghosh, TMC spokesperson.