BHANGAR, WEST BENGAL: Hundreds of crude bombs were found behind the home of former Trinamool lawmaker Arabul Islam, at Bhangar, about 25 km from Kolkata. He was arrested on Friday, for the alleged murder of a supporter of an independent candidate.
Hafizul Mollah, was marching in a campaign rally when few people opened fire. He was shot in the face. Chief minister Mamata Banerjee had ordered Arabul's arrest.
When the police were searching the area behind Arabul's home, they stumbled upon a deep pit in the ground, where hundreds of bombs in buckets were found.
Opponents are calling the whole saga an "eyewash". "The Chief Minister, by getting Arabul arrested can now say, she has done her 'rajdharma' but it is all an eyewash. He will be out in no time," an eyewitness of the incident told NDTV.
The Bengal BJP chief, Dilip Ghosh repeated the "eyewash" charge. Left party CPM's SK Mishra said, "Nothing happens without the blessings of the Chief Minister, including the attack on the independent candidate's campaign rally at Bhangar."
Arabul, a muscleman and moneybag, according to sources, has been in and out of trouble with Ms Banerjee. He was suspended in 2013, reportedly for six years, but was back in business within a year-and-a-half.
After he was presented in court on Saturday, the Trinamool strongman told the media he was not in Bhangar at the time of the attack. Arabul's lawyer claimed he returned to the area only at 6 pm, hours after the incident.
There is tension in Bhangar on the eve of panchayat polls, after Friday's incident. Bhangar has been the site of violent protests against land acquisition for a power grid station since January 2017. Some ultra-Left groups have reportedly fanned a people's movement against the power grid.