Angered by police’s alleged apathy and connivance with the ruling party, residents of Molandi village in Plassey, which falls under the Kaliganj Assembly seat of Nadia, took matters into their own hands on Monday and unearthed at least 40 crude socket bombs from a jute field near the homes of TMC booth committee president Gawal Sheikh and his three brothers.
All four — Gawal, Adar, Manowar and Anowar — are among the 24 accused in the June 23 bomb attack that killed 11-year-old Tamanna Khatun. The brothers are also among the arrested nine.
Following the child’s death, her mother, Sabina Sheikh, had repeatedly pleaded with police to search the area for hidden explosives allegedly stockpiled by Gawal’s gang. On June 27, the police recovered only nine bombs from the homes of two of Gawal’s brothers, Adar and Anowar, which enraged villagers.
“Were the police trying to hide the criminal actions of TMC leaders and workers? What we stumbled upon today (Monday) proves what Sabina had been saying ever since her daughter’s death. There are bombs everywhere in Molandi. The police did nothing to recover those. If we can find so many bombs with our bare hands, how did the cops recover only nine? This shows the nexus between the police and TMC leaders,” fumed
a villager.
On Monday, a youth spotted a crude bomb in a bush while gathering cattle fodder near Gawal’s residence. Soon, angry villagers started a desperate and risky search, eventually uncovering over 40 crude bombs from the jute field, embarrassing the cops and validating Sabina’s earlier warnings.
The villagers alerted mediapersons before informing the cops.
A junior police officer deployed in the area tried to dissuade the villagers from continuing the search, citing the risks, but he was ignored. Finally, senior officials reached the scene with a bomb disposal squad. The recovered explosives were placed in three large plastic containers and defused.
“Forty socket bombs were recovered from one spot in the jute field, which were neutralised,” said additional superintendent of police (rural) Uttam Ghosh.
Refusing to share details of the ongoing probe into Tamanna’s murder, Ghosh said: “It appears that these bombs (found on Monday) were planted afresh after our earlier search operation.”
Some villagers claimed they found “100 bombs” and the police were downplaying the number “due to political pressure”.
Sabina said: “Police are avoiding a proper search because it would embarrass the ruling party. They are actually helping criminals by hiding the bombs.”
Biman meets Sabina
Left Front chairman Biman Bose visited Tamanna’s grieving parents Sabina and Hossain Sheikh at Molandi on Monday.
He planted a sapling in Tamanna’s memory on her grave before addressing a gathering near Plassey railway station.
“Those who killed her cannot be called human beings. They may look human, but they are criminals — parasites ruining our society. We have no words strong enough to condemn them,” Bose said.
Bose decried the alleged lawlessness in Bengal, saying: “The way women are being attacked and children killed in Bengal is unacceptable. It appears we have no law, no society left.”
Criticising the police, he said: “I ask the police — why haven’t you arrested all those named in the FIR? Villagers had to recover sacks full of bombs by themselves from jute fields. Isn’t it your duty to ensure safety? If the police don’t act, how can ordinary people survive?”
‘Mastermind’ charge
Sabina on Monday demanded that Trinamool block president Debabrata Mukherjee aka Jhunu Babu be brought under the purview of the investigation into the murder of her daughter Tamanna Khatun.
She alleged that Mukherjee masterminded the June 23 bomb attack as a part of the TMC’s Kaliganj bypoll victory procession that killed her daughter.
Mukherjee, Sabina claimed, mentored Gawal Sheikh and his brothers, whom she accused of terrorising the village.
Sabina, who received Left Front chairman Biman Bose at her home in Molandi on Monday, said: “I have no faith in the police and I fear for our lives.” Sabina told Bose that she and her husband feared being killed for raising their voice.
“Jhunu Babu acted as the brain behind the attack. He controls Gawal and his gang. The police should probe his role and seize his phone to check his conversations with the attackers before and after the incident,” she said.
She refused state protection, saying: “The police are also involved in the conspiracy. How can I trust them?”
Contacted, Mukherjee did not respond to the allegations and said he was undergoing treatment at AIIMS Kalyani.
“Only nine of the 24 accused have been arrested, 15 are absconding. One fled to Maharashtra and others are roaming freely here. Why are cops not arresting them? It’s all a mystery,” she said, threatening a “fast unto death” if action was not taken soon.