9-yr-old girl killed in crude bomb blast; uncle arrested in north 24 parganas

The crude bombs were kept at the loft in the kitchen and the girl picked them up when the explosion took place. “The girl thought that coconuts were kept in the loft of the house. She went to pick it up but it fell on the ground and exploded.” a police officer said. Sohana was taken to Minakhan Rural Hospital where doctors declared her brought dead.

Minakhan Sub-division Police Officer Aminul Islam said that the house was sealed after the incident and that all the members of the family fled the spot. Police recovered crude bombs from the house and arrested Abu Hossain Gayen, the girl’s uncle, under the relevant sections of IPC and Explosive Substance Act.

Local residents claimed that Abu was a TMC worker, which the party has denied. “The party has no relation with Abu Hussain Gayen. Let police find out truth,” said TMC regional president Azizul Ghazi.

This is the second incident of bomb blast in the state in the last 24 hours. In another crude bomb blast, a bomb fell on a villager during a procession at Charka village in West Midnapore’s Keshpur and his finger was blown off.

The Opposition BJP claimed that TMC is involved in stock pilling bombs in Bengal, while the latter accused BJP of trying to politicise all incidents.

“People are stockpiling bombs before panchayat polls. The state government wants to create an environment of terror so that they can win the polls,” said BJP leader Dilip Ghosh.

State Minister Firhad Hakim said, “The CM has instructed to seize arms and bombs. The Opposition is panicked after police are conducting a drive to seize bombs and arms.”