After fire, now explosives found near Mamata's rally venue

A day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had a narrow escape when a fire broke out in her hotel room, some explosives were recovered few kilometres away from her rally venue in Birbhum district Friday, police said.

"We have seized some explosives from under a culvert on the Suri-Bolpur Road. While the chief minister has been travelling in a chopper, the explosives were found few kilometres away from the party rally venue hours before she attended it," Birbhum's Superintendent of Police R.M. Khan told IANS.

Khan said a bomb disposal squad was immediately sent to the spot and five people have been detained in this connection.

Incidentally, Banerjee, relieving Thursday night's horror when a fire broke out in her hotel room in Malda town, Friday alleged there was a conspiracy to eliminate her.

"There is a concerted effort to eliminate me because they know they cannot stop me," Banerjee had said addressing a party rally in Nalhati.

The Trinamool Congress, which termed the Malda incident a "deep, devious conspiracy", wrote to the Election Commission blaming it for the failure to provide security to the chief minister iterating the conspiracy theory.

"From fire in her hotel room to explosive near her venue, the twin incidents inside two days sums up to only one thing - there is a high level conspiracy to eliminate Mamata Banerjee amd split the Trinamool," said state Sports Minister Madan Mitra.-IANS