Mamata Banerjee, reacting to the incident, said the attack was part of a conspiracy because “some people were pressuring” him to join their party.
After some unidentified attackers hurled crude bombs at Nimtita railway station, West Bengal Minister Jakir Hossain and some of his supporters were injured. The incident took place in Murshidabad district, on Wednesday night, police said.
The incident, as per sources, occurred around 9.45 pm when the minister of state for labour was waiting on Platform No. 2 to catch a train to Kolkata.
Mr Hossain suffered serious injuries in his hands and legs, hospital sources informed. All the injured were taken to the Murshidabad Medical College and Hospital.
Mr Hossain is known to be close to Suvendu Adhikari, former TMC minister who joined the BJP in December in the presence of Home Minister Amit Shah.
Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, State Congress president and Berhampore Lok Sabha MP, said: “The minister was attacked because he was opposed to cow smuggling and corruption in the district. He had opposed the people involved in these activities. This could be the reason why he was targeted today. The law and order situation has hit an all-time low in the state.”
State BJP president Dilip Ghosh also targetted the state government over the issue. He said: “This incident is proof that there is no law and order in the state. Even ministers are not safe here.”
The attack on Mr Hossain took place hours after the TMC expelled Mosharaf Hossain, president of the Murshidabad Zilla Parishad.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, reacting to the incident, said the attack was part of a conspiracy because “some people were pressuring” him to join their party. The TMC supremo compared the incident to the assassination of Punjab Chief Minister Beant Singh in the 1990s. The Bengal chief minister also held Indian Railways responsible for the incident since it took place on the transporters’ premises.
“Jakir Hossain is a big businessman…runs a huge beeri factory. It was a planned attack going by eyewitness accounts,” Ms Banerjee said. “It was a fearful blast. I am shocked. It’s like the Beant Singh blast,” she added.
“Some people (party) were pressuring Jakir Hossian to join them for the last few months. I don’t want to disclose anything more as the investigation is on,” she told reporters.
According to PTI, Ms Banerjee also announced a compensation of ₹ 5 lakh for those seriously injured in the explosion and ₹ one lakh for people who received minor injuries.
“How can the railways deny their responsibility over security lapses when the attack happened at a railway station?” the Bengal CM asked, adding that her government will not allow the suppression of the case. “This is hooliganism, not politics.”
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