40 crude bombs recovered in Birbhum; Bogtui violence link being investigated

The recovery of the bombs comes after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered the police to throw a dragnet to unearth bombs and illegal firearms from across the state.

Kolkata (West Bengal):Days after the killing of eight people in violence in Birbhum, authorities on Saturday said they have recovered at least 40 country-made bombs from a village in the Rampurhat block of the district.

Police and other security agencies are investigating any potential links between the bombs and the recent violence in Bogtui village in which eight people, including three women and two children, were badly beaten up and burnt alive. "40 crude bombs recovered in Margram, Rampurhat of Birbhum district. The crude bombs were concealed in 4 buckets and kept in the back of an under-construction house. The investigation has been initiated," Birbhum Superintendent of Police (SP) Nagendra Nath Tripathi said.

The recovery of the bombs comes after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee ordered the police to throw a dragnet to unearth bombs and illegal firearms from across the state. Banerjee, who on Thursday visited Bogtui village in Birbhum ordered the police to throw a dragnet to unearth bombs and illegal firearms from across the state. “We have recovered caches of illegal weapons from various districts of the state, including Birbhum, West Midnapore. The weapons have been seized, and the crude bombs have been defused by the CID and police bomb disposal squad. Several people have also been arrested,” a senior police official said.

The official, however, said they are yet to compile the arrest figures across the state. “Such dragnet activities are regular procedures and are nothing new. We keep on recovering such weapons regularly,” said a police official. However, the opposition BJP cautioned its cadres that the police might plant a few bombs at saffron party offices to implicate them in false cases.

“We want our party cadres across the state to be extra cautious as there can be an attempt by the police and ruling party to plant these bombs in our party offices and implicate us in false cases. We don’t trust this state government,” BJP state spokesperson Samik Bhattacharya said. The ruling TMC, however, dubbed the allegations baseless. “The TMC and the state administration never indulge in such cheap politics. The BJP can go to any extent to malign others,” TMC state general secretary Kunal Ghosh said.