Burdwan police chief SMH Meerza, whose office is located 2km from the building where the blast took place

Calcutta, Oct. 6: Several senior police officers today spoke of a failure in gathering intelligence in Burdwan’s Khagragarh, where the blast took place last week, throwing up uncomfortable questions for the state home department that comes under Mamata Banerjee.

“It is clear that state intelligence had no idea about what was happening in Khagragarh,” a senior IPS officer said today.

A minority-pocket near Burdwan railway station, Khagragarh is just 1.5-2km from the offices of the district magistrate and the police chief. The area is part of the Trinamul-run Saraitikar gram panchayat.

“The bomb-assembling unit was being run for over three months. But no one seemed to have any clue about it. There are serious doubts about the process of intelligence gathering in the state,” the officer said.

According to standard guidelines of intelligence gathering, officers in the district intelligence branch (DIB) should have kept tabs on people coming from other areas and staying as tenants.

Sources said the DIB should have strictly monitored the two-storeyed building, more so because it apparently housed a Trinamul office. The party’s all-India general secretary, Mukul Roy, has vehemently denied that a Trinamul office operated from the ground floor of the building.

“These basic guidelines seem to have slipped down the priority list,” a senior IAS officer said in Calcutta.

Asked about the alleged intelligence failure, some DIB officials cited staff shortage.

“The officer concerned is busy in a training programme. The person entrusted with the additional responsibility is burdened with too much work, including verifications for passport applicants,” a DIB officer said.

Asked what the local police station — Burdwan Sadar — was doing, the officer added: “They were caught up in law and order duties.”

The officer was clueless about whether the owner of the building, Nurul Hassan Chowdhury, had ever submitted documents related to his five tenants.

The DIB also had little idea about how Shakil Ahmed, one of the two persons who died in the blast, never defaulted on paying the monthly rent of Rs 4,200 despite having no established business.

“Although he dealt in burqas, his income was not much,” a source said.

A senior police officer in Calcutta said a transfer to the DIB was considered a “dumping ground”.

“It is usually considered as a dumping ground. Those who are sent to the DIB wait for a better posting and are reluctant to engage in any serious work,” said the officer of the state police directorate.