West Bengal: 3 feared dead in blast at TMC leader's house in East Medinipur

In the early hours of Saturday, there was reportedly an explosion at the home of a local Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district. It is feared that three people —including local TMC leader Rajkumar Manna died in the incident, while two others were hurt. The house was also damaged due to the explosion.

The incident took place in Purba Medinipur's Bhagabanpur region hours before TMC leader Abhishek Banerjee's public event in the district's Contai area, Suvendu Adhikari's hometown.

Adhikari, the leader of the opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, asserted that TMC leader Rajkumar Manna was "making bombs" at his home when a powerful explosion occurred there, alleging TMC's involvement in the incident. One of the three victims of the explosion was Manna.

“Three dead and 2 others grievously injured as TMC Leader’s house blows up in explosion at Bhupatinagar, Bhagabanpur ii Block, Purba Medinipur District. TMC Booth Presiden Rajkumar Manna was making bombs at his home when this high-intensity explosion happened," Adhikari tweeted.

Debkumar Manna, Rajkumar's cousin, and Biswajit Gayen were also killed in the explosion.

Rabindranath Maiti, a local BJP lawmaker representing the Bhagabanpur assembly district, claimed that the explosion occurred as a result of explosives kept on hand at Manna's home that were intended for use in making crude bombs.

“There is an attempt on part of the local administration to hush up the entire incident," Maiti alleged.

Kunal Ghosh, the state general secretary and spokesperson for TMC, refuted the accusations and asserted that the local BJP activists were behind the explosion, which they allegedly carried out to incite unrest prior to Abhishek Banerjee's rally.

“BJP has been trying to create tension in the area for the last few days. Their leaders, being escorted by the Central armed forces personnel, were trying to bring explosives in the area," Ghosh alleged.

The West Bengal panchayat elections are set to take place in early 2023.