Burdwan blast: NIA officers retrieve explosives from pond

BURDWAN: MBottles containing explosives used to make IEDs in Burdwan blast were today fished out from a pond near the blast site here.

NIA officers came to know about the explosives kept in bottles after interrogating Amjad Sheikh, who was arrested in connection with the blast on November 10.

Amjad, an explosives expert, told the sleuths that he had hidden the bottles in a small shop he had rented to stay near Khagragarh.

When the police and NIA officers reached the shop with Amjad this noon, the shop-owner said that he dumped the bottles containing picric acid in nearby Haldar Pukur on Ahibhusan Road.

The bottles were fished out by using fishing nets and the shop owner was detained for interrogation.

Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) member Sheikh was working with a Kolkata-based medical firm. He used his employment with the firm for procuring many restricted acids including 'picric acid' used for triggering explosive device.

Sheikh, alias Kajal, a resident of Birbhum district of West Bengal, is alleged to be the main person who used to procure material, meant for making improvised explosive devices.

NIA said Sheikh was instrumental in procuring chemicals and providing these to other co-conspirators for making Improvised Explosive Devices.