8-yr-old killed in explosion in Kolkata’s Nagerbazar; TMC blames RSS

Kolkata: An eight-year-old child was killed in a high-intensity explosion in front of a multi-storey building in the Nagerbazar area in Kolkata’s northern suburbs on Tuesday.

Nine others, including a woman, were injured in the explosion.

The explosion took place outside a fruit shop on the ground floor of the building in the congested Kazipara area under in Dum Dum around 9 am, the police said.

The injured have been rushed to the state-run R G Kar Medical College and Hospital, the police said.

The cause of the explosion is not known. A forensic team and sniffer dogs have been sent to the spot to ascertain the nature of the explosion, the police said.

"Initially, we thought it was a gas cylinder blast. But it is not so. We are trying to find out the details. Forensic experts, along with the CID bomb disposal squad, are examining the area," news agency PTI quoted as saying.

The building also has the office of South Dum Dum Municipality Chairman Panchu Roy, who claimed that he was the actual target of the blast.

Roy stopped short of naming any political party as he said: "Forces, which are currently attacking the ruling Trinamool Congress all over Bengal are behind the attack."

Calling the explosion “pre-planned”, Roy told PTI: "They had planned to kill me and other TMC workers, as it would create panic and help them gain foothold in the area.”

West Bengal minister Purnendu Basu said, “I think this type of blast is similar to the ones carried out by RSS (Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh) elsewhere.”