A 38-year-old man was arrested from Samserganj in Murshidabad district allegedly with around 10 kg of explosives, 150 rounds of ammunition and a pistol in poll-bound West Bengal on Friday.
Police said that the explosives were being smuggled into West Bengal from Munger in Bihar to trigger violence. The crucial eight-phase assembly elections are scheduled to start from March 27.
On February 17, West Bengal minister Jakir Hossain was injured along with 22 others in a blast in the same district. The National Investigation Agency is now probing the case and two persons have already been arrested.
“Acting on a tip off, we arrested a man named Tempu Mondol at a naka checking in Samserganj. A huge cache of explosives and ammunition were recovered from him. He was supposed to hand over the consignment to someone. Investigation is on,” said a senior police official of the district. The operation was carried out jointly by the Special Task Force (STF) and the district police.
The officer said that the explosives were being transferred in four packets. He also said that Mondol is from Munger.
{{/usCountry}}The officer said that the explosives were being transferred in four packets. He also said that Mondol is from Munger.
{{/usCountry}}With elections around the corner, there have been several clashes, particularly between the TMC and the BJP in different places in the state.
Last week one person was killed and five others were injured in an explosion at Gosaba in South 24 Parganas district. Police had said that the men were making bombs. In a separate incident police seized around 200 crude bombs from a hideout at Bhangar in South 24 Parganas.