A burnt portion of the minister’s ancestral house. Picture by Amit Datta

Kumrokhali, May 15: The relative of an RSP minister is battling death after suffering severe burns in a suspected bomb attack blamed on CPM cadres, ripping open overnight lacerations within the Left Front in the middle of panchayat polls.

Flames ignited by an explosion engulfed Gouri Naskar, in her late thirties, at the ancestral house of irrigation minister Subhas Naskar in Kumrokhali, under Basanti police station, 90km from Calcutta, this afternoon. Gouri is the wife of the minister’s nephew.

Relatives claimed that bombs were thrown at her by motorcycle-borne supporters of the CPM that shares power with the RSP. Police will also probe an allegation that bombs stockpiled inside the house had gone off.

Supporters of the CPM and the RSP have been locked in bloodletting since yesterday. Three RSP supporters were killed in Basanti, allegedly by CPM activists, during the second phase of the panchayat polls on Wednesday.

Grassroot turf battles have always been fought between the RSP and the CPM but the leadership had ensured that the clashes did not spin past a point. However, the rift spread to the top after the war of words over industrialisation and the subsequent collapse of seat-sharing talks, removing the compulsions for restraint and setting the stage for a lethal escalation of hostilities.

The minister occasionally visits his one-storied ancestral home as he represents the Basanti Assembly constituency.

Gouri, the wife of Sushanta, had to be rushed SSKM Hospital in Calcutta as she suffered 80 per cent burns. “She is in a very critical condition,” a doctor said.

“We do not know whether a bomb was hurled at the house or it exploded. That is the subject of investigation. Our chief minister is concerned. He was equally concerned about yesterday’s incident,” said home secretary Asok Mohan Chakrabarti.

Ironically, around 10am — four and a half hours before the explosion — a posse of policemen had gone to the house to guard the family after yesterday’s clashes. Subhas Naskar’s sister-in-law Kalyani asked the police to leave as she feared their presence might spell trouble. The policemen had lunch at the house and left at 11am.

According to Kalyani, around 2.30pm, a motorcycle whizzed past the house and, seconds later, a blast rocked the area. The room where Sushanta and Gouri lived turned into a ball of fire, she said.

“Those present tried to douse the flames. Nobody was aware if there was anybody in the room at that time’’, Kalyani added. When the fire was brought under control, Gouri was found lying in the room.

Subhas Naskar’s brother Chittaranjan, who lives in the same house, said “everything pointed” to a “CPM attack”.

“Even during the last panchayat polls, the CPM had attacked our house, though not with bombs,” Chittaranjan told The Telegraph. “This time, though no one saw the bomb actually being hurled at the house, I am certain the CPM is behind the attack.”

The police arrested Nabakumar Ray, a CPM activist. Ray was caught with raw material for making bombs, and a rifle was found in his house.

Another twist was added when Ganesh Naskar, who identified himself as the irrigation minister’s nephew, claimed that bombs kept in a box in Gouri’s room exploded when she tried to remove them.

However, the minister said: “I don’t have any nephew by the name of Ganesh. He may belong to the village. Let the police investigate and find out whether bombs had been hurled at my ancestral home or that stockpiled bombs exploded.’’

On his way to Basanti, Subhas Naskar had said: “The CPM has stabbed us in the back while talking peace.”

Later, it was decided at a meeting between the CPM and the RSP that “for the time being’’ no political, victory or funeral processions would be brought out, officials said.