West Bengal Police seized a car loaded with explosives from Jessore Road in the Duttapukur area of North 24 Parganas district late on Wednesday night, officials said on Thursday, and detained the car's owner for questioning, IANS reported on October 22.

Source: IANS via hi INDiA

Nation Press, in a separate report, also said the vehicle was intercepted on Jessore Road in Duttapukur late on Wednesday night, that its owner Rakibul Islam has been detained and is being questioned, and that the seizure, made on the night of Vijaya Dashami, spread panic in the area.

Source: Nation Press

Considering the seriousness of the matter, personnel from three agencies — the Special Task Force (STF), the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Bomb Disposal Squad — reached the spot immediately, the reports said. The state unit of the National Security Guard (NSG) also reached the spot, and NSG personnel have surrounded the spot since the night, according to the latest information available.

The explosives recovered from the car have been sent for forensic examination, sources aware of the developments said. The investigation is under way to find out where the gunpowder and explosives were being taken in the car during the festive season, and sources said the car was coming towards Kolkata. No official statement has yet given the type or quantity of the explosives recovered.

According to police sources cited in the reports, the spot where the vehicle was recovered is quite close to the India-Bangladesh border in the district, and investigators suspect the possibility of foreign links behind the development. That suspicion has not been established, and police have not announced any such finding. The owner, Rakibul Islam, also owns a car showroom and has two houses, the reports said; investigators went to his house, questioned his family members, and confiscated his two mobile phones and a laptop.

At a glance

Where: Jessore Road, Duttapukur, North 24 Parganas. When: late Wednesday night, Vijaya Dashami. Seized: a car loaded with explosives — type and quantity not officially stated; material sent for forensic examination. Detained: owner Rakibul Islam, being questioned. At the spot: STF, NIA, Bomb Disposal Squad and NSG. Under probe: the destination of the explosives and, per police sources, possible foreign links — not established.

What is solid

  • West Bengal Police seized an explosives-laden car on Jessore Road in Duttapukur, North 24 Parganas, late on Wednesday night and detained owner Rakibul Islam for questioning — reported by IANS and Nation Press.
  • STF, NIA and Bomb Disposal Squad personnel reached the spot and the NSG's state unit also deployed; the recovered explosives were sent for forensic examination — IANS and Nation Press.
  • No official statement in the reports gives the type or quantity of the explosives, and no arrests beyond the owner's detention have been announced.

What is only claimed

  • The destination of the explosives and any foreign link are matters under investigation. Police sources cited in the reports pointed to the seizure spot's proximity to the India-Bangladesh border as a reason for suspicion — that is a line of inquiry, not an established finding.