7-year-old killed, 1 injured while handling crude bomb in West Bengal

A country-made bomb detonated on Tuesday morning at Barrackpore, around 35 km north of Kolkata, killing a seven-year-old boy and badly injuring a ten-year-old after they mistaken it for a ball.

The Bhatpara State General Hospital received the injured child before sending him on to the Calcutta Medical College. Another unexploded crude bomb was found at the same location by police and the bomb disposal team of the Criminal Investigation Department. The bombs were tucked away in a bush next to the railroad tracks.

“The incident happened around 6:30 am and 7am on Tuesday. Locals said that two children were playing when the bomb exploded. They mistook the bomb as a ball. The police have started an investigation,” said a senior official of the Government Railway Police (GRP) from Naihati.

“My grandson woke up in the morning and went out to play along the railway tracks. As it was Kali Puja last night, he and his friend were trying to find out if there were any unburnt firecrackers which they may use later today. His hand was ripped apart in the explosion,” said the injured child’s grandmother.

Within the town’s industrial belt are a number of areas, including Kakinada, Bhatpara, and Jagatdal in the Lok Sabha district of Barrackpore. They have frequently been in the news because of political disputes between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Trinamool Congress, which is in power.

Arjun Singh, a state representative from the BJP from Barrackpore, joined the TMC earlier this year. In advance of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, he had joined the BJP. Bombs were also thrown at Singh’s home in September 2021. Manish Shukla, a close friend and aide, was fatally shot in October 2020.

The incident on Tuesday sparked a political brawl, with the BJP accusing the state’s in charge TMC of failing to maintain law and order.

“Once can find bombs and firearms across West Bengal now. Once these were manufactured at Munger in Bihar, but now they are done here. All these will be used during the 2023 panchayat elections to silence the opposition. This proves how bloody the election could be,” said Sukanta Majumdar, BJP state president.

“There are rumours that Majumdar may not continue as the state BJP president for long, hence he is making such statements for limelight. The police are investigating. The number of such incidents have dropped over time in that area,” said Kunal Ghosh, TMC spokesperson.