JOIN USA member of the bomb disposal squad (BDS) was killed while trying to defuse an improvised explosive device (IED) at Alipurduar in north Bengal on Thursday morning.
Two other persons caught in the explosion were admitted to the state-run hospital with grievous injuries.
Police suspect the explosive could have been planted by insurgent group such as the Kamtapur Liberation Organisation which operates in parts of north Bengal bordering Bhutan. They also believe that the IED could have been on a timer as it went off when the BDS person tried dismantling it. Deputy Superintendent of police (CID) Bimal Kumar Mondal said the explosion ripped apart the head and hands of the BDS staff, Lal Bahadur Lohar.
The incident occurred when a police patrol came across an abandoned bicycle at a busy crossing in Alipurduar under Jalpaiguri district, nearly 450 Km north of Kolkata, in the wee hours of Thursday.
A steel tiffin-carrier was fastened to the cycle, prompting police to suspect foul play. They immediately informed the BDA thinking that it could contain a bomb. The disposal squad took the carrier to an abandoned football field nearby and tried dismantling it when it went off.
Police pointed out that an IED in a steel tiffin-carrier, similarly attached to an abandoned bicycle had exploded near Alipurduar on March 18, 2009, killing three persons and injuring five.