An explosion rocked Naopukuria in West Bengal’s Murshidabad district on Tuesday evening, weeks before the October 6 Rejinagar Assembly bypoll, with police subsequently recovering bombs stored inside a container in the area. No casualties were reported, but the blast triggered panic among residents and brought security concerns into focus ahead of voting in the constituency. Police have launched an investigation to establish how the explosives reached the spot and the circumstances that caused them to detonate.
Residents said a loud explosion was heard late in the evening in Naopukuria, under the jurisdiction of Beldanga police station, following which smoke engulfed the area. Locals rushed towards a nearby water body from where the sound appeared to have originated but did not find anyone there. Some residents alleged that unidentified persons had been making bombs near the pond when the explosion occurred, while others suspected that explosives stored inside a container had gone off because of intense heat. Police, however, said the exact sequence of events remained under investigation.
Bombs found nearby
A Beldanga police station officer said the preliminary investigation indicated that bombs had been kept inside a container near the water body. According to the officer, a brick apparently fell on the container from above and triggered the explosion. Police also recovered bombs from the area and began examining who had stored them and for what purpose.
The incident assumes significance because Naopukuria falls within the Rejinagar Assembly constituency, where a bypoll is scheduled for October 6. With only weeks remaining before polling, the recovery of explosives has raised questions about their possible intended use, although police have not established any electoral connection to the incident so far.
BJP alleges stockpiling
BJP Baharampur organisational district president Malay Mahajan alleged that the stockpiling of bombs and firearms was a p