Child dies in blast at Kolkata’s Dum Dum

TMC- BJP blame game on, 9 injured

Kolkata, Oct. 2: A sevenyearold child was killed and nine people, including his mother, were injured in a low- intensity explosion in front of a multi- storey building at Nagerbazar in Kolkata’s northern suburbs on Tuesday, police said.

The ruling Trinamul Congress held the BJP and RSS responsible for the blast and alleged that the saffron party was aiming to kill South Dum Dum Municipality chairman and TMC leader Panchu Roy.

The BJP rubbished these charges and demanded a NIA probe into the blast, which shook the windows of neighbouring houses and splinters damaged the shutters of the shops near it.

Calling Roy and other TMC leaders former Naxalites, the BJP said the blast was a result of an internal feud in the TMC.

“A 7- year- old child, who was severely injured in the blast, has died in the hospital. Nine other persons are undergoing treatment at two hospitals, among them one is critical,” deputy commissioner of police, Barrackpore C o m m i s s i o n e r a t e , Ananda Roy said.

As per the initial investigation, ammonium nitrate was used in the low- intensity blast which was outside a shop on the ground floor of the building in the congested Kazipara area under the jurisdiction of Dum Dum police station around 9 am, the official

said. “It was a socket bomb explosion. Forensic team and the bomb squad

of CID are examining the spot. We have started further investigation,”

a police officer said. A socket bomb is an improvised explosive device. “Initially, we thought it was a gas cylinder blast. But it was not so. We have found a few iron nails but there is no smell of gunpowder,” another senior police officer said.

A forensic team along with CID bomb disposal squad and sniffer dogs were sent to the spot to ascertain the nature of the explosion, police said.

Panchu Roy, whose office is in the multistoreyed building, claimed he was the target of the blast. The shop outside which the blast took place is the extended office of the municipal chairman. Roy and his party workers are regularly present in the office from 9 am to 10 am in the morning and also a few hours in the evening, the municipality chairman and the locals said.

Roy claimed he was late to reach his office in the morning and the blast took place around 9.05 am. Roy stopped short of naming any political party, but said the forces, which are currently attacking the ruling TMC all over Bengal, were behind the attack.

“It was a pre- planned blast... They had planned to kill me and other TMC workers, as it would create panic and help them gain foothold in the area,” Panchu Roy told PTI.

Asked whether the explosion was a result of infighting within the TMC, he said there was no such issue in south Bengal. TMC North 24 Parganas district president and state minister Jyotipriyo Mullick, who visited the spot, held the BJP and RSS responsible for the blast and said it was targeted at harming Roy and other party members.

“The blast is an example of deep conspiracy to kill Panchu Roy. This was a very well- planned one. They ( the BJP) are trying to create unnecessary problems among the people throughout the state. “The BJP is trying to play divisive politics. They are shouting against the incident in Islampur but trying to killing Roy here,” Mullick said.