Crude bombs explode inside locked club room in Kolkata; more explosives defused

KOLKATA: Panic gripped Paikpara in north Kolkata early Saturday after crude bombs exploded inside a locked room of an abandoned club, police said. No injuries or casualties were reported in the blast, which occurred around 6.11am. According to a senior police officer, eyewitnesses said two to three crude bombs kept inside the closed club room went off, and the impact caused the tin roof of the structure to collapse onto the fifth-floor roof of a neighbouring building. Police later discovered five to six more crude bombs on the premises, which were safely defused by the bomb disposal squad. “The bombs appear to have been stored in the room, which has remained unused for years. We are investigating who placed them there and for what purpose,” the officer said. The loud explosion startled residents of the densely populated locality, with many rushing out of their homes and gathering near the site. Police later cordoned off the area. A local resident, Rangan Dev, said miscreants might have hidden the explosives in the abandoned room to create disturbances in the area. The incident also triggered a political exchange. BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya alleged that the bombs could have been planted by miscreants backed by the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Rejecting the allegation, TMC spokesperson Trinankur Bhattacharya said the BJP was trying to politicise an isolated incident that is under investigation, adding that the law and order situation in West Bengal is better than in several BJP-ruled states.(With agency inputs)