INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
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
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. Bombs were found in buckets and bags in a deep pit behind Arabul
Islam's houseOpponents 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 TheIndianSubcontinent.The Bengal BJP chief, Dilip Ghosh repeated the
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
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.
