According to the police, the deceased has been identified as Raj Biswas, a resident of Palla Road in Burdwan who came to his uncle’s house in Pandua. They said Rupam Vallabh and Saurabh Chowdhury were injured in the suspected blast.
According to local sources, they heard the sound of an explosion when several teenagers were playing by the pond in Tinna Netajipalli Colony in Pandua. They said the children were thrown in different directions after being hit by the bomb. One person’s hand was blown off and another got splinter injuries, they added.
“The three injured people were rescued and taken to Pandua Hospital first. But one person was declared dead by the doctors. As the condition of the two others is critical, they were admitted to Chinsurah Imambara Hospital,” said a police officer.
Biswas’s grandmother said, “My grandson was watching TV at home. The boy next door called him to play and asked him to come out… We heard a loud noise and ran to see this situation”.
Residents said such an incident has never happened in an otherwise peaceful area.
BJP candidate from Hooghly constituency and sitting MP Locket Chatterjee attacked the ruling Trinamool Congress over the incident. “Abhishek Banerjee will be going to the area and before that, his party workers are showing him who is the bigger criminal. There is no democracy in the state. The way bombs are being recovered from different places, it is understood the Trinamool Congress does not have faith in the people. They believe in guns and bombs,” said Chatterjee.
CPM leader and Left candidate of Dum Dum Sujan Chakraborty said, “Horrible, shocking incident. A child died in a bomb attack while playing by the pond. The administration is silent. Who is stockpiling this bomb? What are the police doing? If the miscreants think that the police minister has a hand on our head, it will be a disaster.”
Trinamool, however, dismissed the allegations of the Opposition.
Party spokesperson and former Rajya Sabha MP Shantanu Sen said, “Our party has people’s support with people’s blessings; we do not need all these bombs. The Opposition may need all this. Next June 4 will prove who is what.”
“No one will be spared. There will be an investigation. Locket Chatterjee is the mastermind of this incident,” said Asima Patra, Dhanekhali MLA and party in-charge of the Pandua Assembly constituency.
The blast came just a day ahead of the third phase of the Lok Sabha elections on Tuesday when four constituencies in the state will vote.