Burdwan explosion: Third arrest made

CID DIG (Operations) Dilip Adak said a third man was arrested in this connection after the arrest of two women a day ago in connection with the blast that killed two suspected terrorist bomb makers.

"We have taken into custody a third man who is from the local area," he said. The arrested man is identified as Hassan Mollah.

Police said the men killed in the bast were linked to Bangladesh's  Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh.

Two bomb makers who died in the explosion were Shakeel Ahmed and Shobhan Mondal with the former hailing from Bangladesh.

Two women- Rejara Biwi and Amina Biwi- were arrested on Thursday in connection with the explosion in the two-storey house at Khargram, in the heart of Burdwan town.

Of the two women arrested, Rejara Biwi is the widow of Shakeel Ahmed while Amina Bibi is the wife of Hasan Saheb, a third suspected terrorist in the house who was injured and is now undergoing treatment at Burdwan Medical College and Hospital, said reports.

CID is on the hunt for more men involved in the network even as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has been probing the case given its gravity.

Police said pamphlets and leaflets linked to al-Qaida and support for the cause of Chechen rebels were also found.

A local Trinamool Congress leader admitted that the building also housed a Trinamool Congress office for Panchayat elections though senior leader Mukul Roy denied any TMC presence there.

CPI-M senior leader Biman Bose said the TMC has removed the party signboard after the blast.

BJP state president Rahul Sinha said the house was a terrorist training centre and it belonged to Trinamool Congress members.