An explosion at a club at Gangulypara Lane in Paikpara early on Saturday morning shook the locality and blew off the club’s tin roof.
The roof flew off and landed on the terrace of an adjacent five-storey building.
No one was injured, police said.
Residents of the narrow lane in north Calcutta were terrified by the deafening noise and the cloud of dust that filled the air over the “Yubashakti” club around 6.15am.
Several glass windows nearby were shattered, and the blast set the club on fire.
A fire tender brought the flames under control before Kolkata Police’s bomb squad arrived. Six crude bombs and two glass bottles containing liquid were found inside the club, allegedly lying abandoned for nearly six years.
The club room, several decades old, stands between two houses.
“The club’s rear boundary wall was weak. We guess some miscreants may have broken off part of the wall and scaled it to enter the club to keep some crude bombs,” said Srabani Banerjee, a club member.
“An individual eager to grab the land before developing it might be involved in the explosion. Those responsible should be brought to book.”
A team of officers from Chitpore police station cordoned off the area. Members of the bomb squad later pulled out twisted iron shelves and charred items from the club.
“We used to hear stories about such explosions during the Naxalite movement, but this has never happened in the last few decades in Paikpara,” said Tarun Saha, chairman of Borough 1 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation. “The police are investigating the case. If required, surveillance on the lane may be enhanced.”
The explosion left some wondering whether it could be a prelude to election-season violence.
Senior officers in Kolkata Police’s north division said a case has been registered after one of the club’s members lodged a complaint.
“Forensic experts have been summoned to find out how the explosion occurred and what chemicals were used. We also want them to analyse the liquid in the two recovered bottles,” an officer said.
A Gangulypara resident said: “Some outsiders have been visiting this place of late. We don’t know them. It’s scary to know that bombs were left inside a club on a busy lane.”
Hours later, some BJP supporters gathered outside Chitpore police station demanding an explanation. “The explosion is a pointer to the Trinamool’s preparations for the Assembly polls. How is it that bombs were stockpiled inside a clubroom?” asked BJP leader and Union minister Sukanta Majumder.
