A man was found dead at Haroa in North 24-Parganas on Thursday morning, triggering allegations that he had died in an explosion that took place in an abandoned building at Bhangar in South 24-Parganas.
Police, however, said there is no evidence yet that connects the two incidents. The deceased has been identified as Moshiur Qazi.
Residents alleged that a few people were preparing crude bombs when the explosion happened.
Indian Secular Front (IFS) leaders alleged that some people aligned to the Trinamool Congress were involved in the act, but the local TMC leaders refuted the allegations.
The incident was reported sometime early on Thursday when multiple explosions happened at Chaltaberia village in Bhangar, sources said.
“Some Trinamool Congress men and women were in the process of preparing crude bombs. We all know that. The bombs exploded,” said a local ISF leader.
The local TMC leadership, however, blamed the ISF for the incident.
“In the last year, seven people have died, and out of them, four were TMC men. The rest were ISF men who died during gunfights with the police. The ISF men had been involved in smuggling large numbers of arms and explosives in the past,” said Shaukat Mollah, TMC leader and the party’s candidate for the Assembly elections from Bhangar.
Bhangar, on the southern fringes of the city, whose jurisdiction has been included in Kolkata Police, has witnessed multiple cases of violence and gun battles in the past over area domination and political rivalries between parties.
Sources said a forensic team will visit the spot to find out if there are signs of anyone being killed in an explosion at the alleged spot.
“An investigation has been launched. Follow-up action will be taken,” police commissioner Ajay Nand said on Thursday.