Bomb hurled at Trinamool councillor Asit Majumdar's house in Bengal

Kolkata, Feb 11 : A bomb was hurled at Trinamool Congress Councillor's house in Basirhat of West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district, the police said on Wednesday.

However, no one was injured in the incident even as panic spread in the area following the incident.

Asit Majumdar, the councillor of ward number eight of Basirhat Municipality, was at home at the time of the incident.

The miscreants fled the area before he could leave the house after hearing the sound of the bomb. The Trinamool Congress leader claimed that he has never seen such an incident in his long 55-year political career and pointed finger at the "infighting" of the party.

Meanwhile, local leaders of the party, including MLA from Basirhat Dakshin constituency Saptarshi Banerjee came there at Tuesday night after receiving the news of the bombing at the house of the party councillor.

Standing next to the party councillor, the ruling party MLA said that there may be a conspiracy by the opposition party behind this. However, the BJP has countered by saying that there is a factional conflict within the Trinamool Congress behind this. The police have started an investigation into the incident.

In this regard, an officer of the Basirhat Police district said, "The initial assumption is that a socket-type bomb was hurled at the councillor’s house. The sprinter and shell of the bomb have been recovered from the scene. Efforts are being made to collect information about this by talking to the councillor and people in the area. CCTV footage of the area is being examined. It is hoped that it will be possible to quickly identify and arrest the miscreants."

Majumdar is known as a veteran leader of Basirhat. He was first with the Congress, then he joined the Trinamool and won the municipal elections and became a councillor. His wife Krishna Majumdar was also the chairman of the Basirhat Municipality for five years. The incident of bombing at the house of such a leader has increased political heat as usual in the election atmosphere.

It is learnt that the Trinamool councillor was talking to some people from the area at his house on Tuesday night. It is alleged that the miscreants hurled a bomb at the house of Asit Majumdar after the people left. A part of the iron grill of the main door of the house was damaged in the bomb blast.

In this regard, Majumdar said, "I was talking to some people I know in my house. After they left the house, I suddenly heard a loud noise. After that, the smell of gunpowder hit my nose and I realised that someone had thrown a bomb! I have never seen such an incident in my long political life."

He added, "Even during the Left Front regime, no one dared to attack my house. The police came after receiving the news and saw it. I feel bad seeing this situation in Basirhat. I have no dispute or enmity with anyone. Therefore, I cannot say who is behind this incident. However, I think that it may be someone local, not an outsider."

Trinamool MLA Saptarshi Banerjee said, "The police have confirmed that a socket bomb was thrown at the house of this party leader. It is a very heinous incident. I condemn it. It will be clear who is behind this after examining the CCTV footage. The police have been asked to arrest the culprits within 48 hours. Those who want to disturb Bengal may have played a role behind the bombing. So, there must be politics behind this."

Meanwhile, Palash Sarkar, president of the BJP's Basirhat organisational district Yuva Morcha, said, "Today, people's lives are in turmoil due to the mischief of the Trinamool. The people of Basirhat are fed up. The factional conflict of the Trinamool has reached such a point that even the party's councillors are not spared."