1 Held As Police Raided Port Area House, Unearthed Bomb Factory

Kidderpore: On Monday, the Kolkata police busted an alleged bomb-making factory — being run from a house — at Kidderpore in Kolkata. One person was arrested in connection with the incident.

While preliminary investigations have ruled out the possibility of the incident involving a terror angle, the location of the factory — near the port area — has the police worried, said sources.

Following a tip-off, police said officers from Watgunj police station were dispatched to raid the house at Manastala Row early Monday. “The raid led to the recovery of an active hand-made bomb, 300 grams of gun powder and a black bag that contained a few mobile chips and circuits,” Deputy Commissioner (Port) Sudip Sarkar said. “We have arrested one suspect, identified as Samir Hossain. He has been booked under sections three and five of the Explosives Substances Act of IPC… The incident has no terror links,” he added.

However, with the factory being located near the port, police are worried as it had easy access to the rest of the state and eventually, the Bay of Bengal. “While we have cracked down on smuggling, it still continues. It looks like the bombs and gun powder were stored for the purpose of robbery,” said a senior officer.

Sources, however, claimed the seizure of a bomb, mobile circuits, remote control, chips and gunpowder hinted at the possibility of something much more sinister than a robbery. “Something like this happening in Kolkata and that too near the port is very worrying. We are trying to track the others associated with this factory… In the coming days, more arrests will be made,” said an officer.

Meanwhile on Monday, a four-member National Investigation Agency team visited the spot. Following investigation, the team confirmed that no IED was found at the factory, sources said. The house, where the factory was being run, has been sealed.