KOLKATA: Troubled Bhatpara-Kankinara region in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district witnessed fresh violence on Monday when some bombs were exploded in the area, police said.
There were reports of a sporadic explosion of bombs in the area since Saturday evening, they said, adding two persons have been arrested in connection with it.
Fifty crude bombs were recovered by the police Monday morning from an abandoned railway housing complex in the area, which had witnessed repeated clashes between the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) since the Lok Sabha election results in May.
Miscreants allegedly ransacked the Bhatpara Municipal Matri Sadan (maternity home) and hurled bombs in front of the hospital, creating panic among patients. They also hurled bombs at different places of Kankinara during the day.
Local residents put up a rail blockade at Kankinara station for about two hours to protest against the violence, leading to disruption of train services in Sealdah-Ranaghat division of the Eastern Railway.
Ajoy Thakur, Deputy Commissioner (Zone 1) of the Barrackpore Police Commissionerate said, "Some miscreants hurled bombs in three places on Monday, but now the situation is under control."
The police along with Rapid Action Force (RAF) personnel have been deployed in the area, with many shops, market places and business establishments downing their shutters, he said.
The police have also started conducting nakka checking, patrolling and raids at various places, Thakur said.
At least two persons had been killed and 11 others injured in violent clashes in the area since the Lok Sabha polls.
A TMC citadel for long, Bhatpara has been witnessing frequent post-poll violence between the rival parties. The fight has intensified ever since Arjun Singh crossed over from the TMC to the BJP and won the Barrackpore Lok Sabha seat, under which Bhatpara and Kankinara fall.
In the by-election to the Bhatpara assembly seat that was held along with the Lok Sabha elections, Arjun Singh's son, Pawan Singh, defeated TMC candidate and former state minister Madan Mitra.