West Bengal: Explosion rocks Darjeeling, no casualties reported

Local police claimed that none was hurt in the blast while at least 20 shops at the area were damaged due to the explosion.

"A small hole on the road has been created due to the explosion while iron-shutters and glass-made windows of several nearby shops have been damaged," a police official told IBNS.

After the explosion was reported, a heavy police force, fire and emergency services officials and CRPF personnel rushed to the scene and security forces cordoned off the whole area.

Darjeeling district's SP Akhilesh Chaturvedi told IBNS, "A high intensity explosion was reported at around 12:05 am. last night from Darjeeling's Motor Stand area and following the incident, a heavy police force were deployed to the scene."

"We are suspecting that a police patrol party was the target and prima facie indicates that Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was used in the blast," Chaturvedi said.

SP Akhilesh Chaturvedi said that no casualty was reported in the explosion as the area was empty during the incident.

"We have started probe into the reason behind the explosion and our forensic team collected samples on Saturday morning from the spot," he added.

However, local police officials claimed that Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) had planned the explosion while GJM leaders denied their involvement in the incident.

Meanwhile, pro-Gorkhaland supporters’ indefinite strike in Darjeeling hills entered its 69th day on Saturday.