1 dead, another hurt in Budge Budge blasts

Kolkata: Crude bombs that had been stockpiled in a house in Budge Budge to intimidate voters exploded on Sunday evening, killing one and seriously injuring another.
The resident of the house where the blast happened, Bapi, is a history-sheeter with links to the ruling party. He is absconding and police have begun a suo motu case. Several live bombs, a 9mm pistol and a single-shotter were recovered from the house, one of three railway quarters Bapi had forcibly occupied.
The bombs were meant for intimidation of voters during Saturday's elections, but had remained unused due to strict police vigil.
The explosion happened around 10pm on Sunday when Bapi, fearing a police raid, asked lackeys Mithun Naskar, Raju Mondal and two others to shift the bombs from his house to another location.
Police said one of the bombs exploded and set off the others, causing a powerful blast that critically injured Naskar and Mondal, both aged around 30. Bapi dropped the two at a nursing home in Ekbalpur before fleeing. While Naskar died within hours, Mondal is critical.
According to Sk Mujibar Rahman, the Congress candidate from Budge Budge, Bapi was present in several Trinamool rallies in the run-up to Saturday's polls. Linked to CPM before 2011, Bapi switched allegiance after Trinamool came to power.
Sources said an influential Trinamool leader from south Kolkata had even called the local police to prevent Bapi's detention before the election. "He is now a reformed man. Why are you disturbing him?" the leader allegedly told cops.
Bapi's wife runs an NGO - West Bengal Handicapped Rights Commission - that police say is a front for his criminal activities.
However, Budge Budge municipality vice-chairman Gautam Dasgupta of Trinamool denied any links between Bapi and the party.