Police in Birbhum district of West Bengal are looking to catch a man whose house was found to be hoarding around 200 crude bombs. Police came to know about presence of these bombs after they accidentally exploded and destroyed the house as a result.
The incident took place at Demutita area of Lokpur village, which is about 50 Kms from Santiniketan at around 9.30 AM on Tuesday. Demutita residents claim that the house owner had been manufacturing and storing crude bombs in his house for the last two years.
The house owner is reported to be a man named Sheikh Samirchand, who was earlier a worker of Trinamool Congress, the party that is ruling West Bengal.
“The man who stored bombs in a house is a notorious criminal and backed by a Trinamool’s faction,” a police officer was quoted as saying by The Telegraph newspaper, tough Trinamool Congress is denying any connection with Sheikh or his activities.
But the villagers insist that the man was associated with the ruling party.
“Samirchand built this building three years ago and used it to manufacture and store bombs. He was involved in extortion and other criminal activities since he joined the Trinamool Congress. So, he was expelled from the party a year ago,” said a villager.
This is not the first time though that a house full of crude bombs has been linked with Trinamool Congress in the region.
Last year two men named Hafizul and Tarik Hussain, who were brothers of a Trinamool leader, were killed in Birbhum when the bombs they were reportedly making to attack a rival group exploded accidentally. In April this year, 8 people were killed similarly, again in Birbhum, while making bombs in a house allegedly belonging to a Trinamool worker . In May, around 70 live bombs were recovered in Chandipur village of the Birbhum district, causing panic in the area.