Crude bomb goes off in Bengal’s Hooghly, child killed, two others injured

With Hooghly scheduled to go to the Lok Sabha polls on May 20, the incident triggered a political row as BJP and Congress hit out at the ruling TMC

A child was killed and two others were seriously injured when a crude bomb exploded at Pandua in West Bengal’s Hooghly district on Monday morning, police said. “One boy was killed and two others were injured in the explosion at Pandua. Our officers have rushed to the spot. Investigation is going on,” a police officer said.

The three children aged between 10–12 were playing near a pond. (Getty Images)

The three children aged between 10–12 were playing near a pond when the bomb went off. They were rushed to a hospital where one of them was declared dead. The other two were seriously injured. One of them had his arm ripped off. The child who died was visiting his uncle after the closure of schools for summer vacations.

“We heard a deafening sound and rushed to the spot. The three children were lying in a pool of blood. They were rushed to the hospital. They probably mistook the crude bomb as some playing item,” said Akash Dutta, a Pandua resident.

With Hooghly scheduled to go to the Lok Sabha polls on May 20, the incident triggered a political row. Locket Chatterjee, the BJP member of Parliament from Hooghly, hit out at the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) saying this is its way of welcoming its leader. Her reference was to TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee, who was scheduled to address a rally in Pandua.

Chatterjee said bombs are being recovered from across the state. “The TMC has lost faith in the people. They now trust only arms and explosives. See their audacity. None would be spared,” said Chatterjee.

Congress leader Soumya Aich Roy questioned the police and the Election Commission of India. “Where are we heading? Are we living in a war zone where bombs, arms, and ammunition are being recovered daily? It has become an industry in West Bengal.”

There was no immediate response from TMC.