Bengal minister injured in bomb attack at railway station

Kolkata: West Bengal's deputy labour minister Zakir Hossain sustained bomb injuries along with at least a dozen Trinamool Congress (TMC) workers around 9.45 pm outside Nimtita railway station in Murshidabad district when several bombs were hurled at him by unidentified people.

Police said that at least two other persons accompanying Hossain were also injured in the bombing.

According to police, the bomb was thrown on Hossain when he was waiting at a platform of the Nimtita railway station to board a Kolkata-bound train.

The minister and the two other injured persons were first taken to Jangipur sub-divisional Hospital, then to a hospital in Kolkata. Hossain reportedly sustained injuries on the left side of his body, mainly on his limbs.

Police said that they are probing the incident. Contingents of police led by senior officials have immediately rushed to the spot.

This is the first attack on a Bengal minister in recent years. Hossain, who was earlier in the Congress joined the TMC and won the Jangipur assembly seat in 2016. TMC's Murshidabad district unit president Abu Taher Khan accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of carrying out the attack.

However, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh dismissed the allegation saying Murshidabad has become a haven for criminals. "The minister could be a victim of infighting in the TMC prior to the assembly polls," said Ghosh.

Elections in Bengal will be held in March-April and violence is regularly taking place in several parts of the state.