A real estate broker has been arrestsed in connection with Kolkata’s Rajarhat explosion case on Sunday, taking the total number of arrests in the incident to two.
The arrested accused, Md Shahenshah, had been detained for questioning on Saturday night.
According to police sources Shahenshah was arrested after the arrest of the prime accused, Shamim, from Sodepur.
Police claimed that Shahenshah helped Shamim rent a house in the Suparibagan area of South Narayanpur in Rajarhat by facilitating the use of a false identity.
Following Shamim’s arrest, police also questioned Shahenshah, the house owner Zulfikar Ansari and a minor.
Shahenshah was later formally arrested for his alleged role in arranging the accommodation.
Police suspect that the accused had been involved in providing local support and logistical help to the prime accused.
“We will be interrogating Shahenshah to get more details,” a senior police officer said.
The explosion occurred early on Saturday at a rented room in a three-storey house in Suparibagan.
The blast was so powerful that it shattered the ground-floor walls and doors, causing extensive damage to the building. One person was injured in the incident.
Preliminary investigation said that two men had rented the room a few days before the blast.
Police suspect that on Friday night one of them brought a white bag into the room and left shortly afterwards.
A powerful explosion took place within minutes. CCTV footage reportedly captured the moment of the blast.
The explosion triggered panic among local residents, who rushed out of their homes.
Police from Narayanpur police station reached the spot and began an investigation after receiving information about the incident.
During the search, police recovered multiple crude bombs from inside the house.
Two live bombs were safely defused by the bomb squad.
Investigators suspect the explosion was caused by a stockpile of crude “sutli” bombs kept inside the rented room, although the exact cause is yet to be established.
Police are also probing whether the explosives were intended for a larger act of sabotage. The investigation is continuing.