Blast damages building in health centre premises, no casualty

An abandoned building in the compound of a primary health center (PHC) collapsed in an explosion on early Thursday in Birbhum district of West Bengal, police said. No casualty was reported in the blast that occurred at around 3 am in the compound of Dwarka PHC under Labhpur police station limits.

The ruling Trinamool Congress and the opposition BJP accused each other of stockpiling bombs in the building which was not in use for quite some time. District Superintendent of Police Shyam Singh said, "The cause of the explosion is not yet clear. The matter is under investigation." A police team visited the spot.

Labhpur Block Medical Officer of Health Buddhadev Murmu said, "The blast caused no harm to the PHC building." Only outdoor service is provided at the PHC and none was present there at night. Local people said the sound of the blast had woken them up.

"After rushing to the spot, we found that the building has collapsed," said Mir Jahan, a villager. The middle portion of the single-story building caved in while two walls of a room were blown away. Cracks appeared in several other walls due to the impact of the blast.

The TMC accused the police of inaction and blocked a local road demanding the removal of the officer-in-charge of Labhpur police station. Kajal Roy, a block level TMC leader, alleged that BJP-backed goons have stockpiled bombs in that building.

"Despite our demands, the police did not take any action against anti-social elements and to recover arms and bombs," he claimed. BJP's district vice-president Dilip Ghosh alleged that the area is dominated by TMC-backed anti-socials who have gathered the bombs there.

The explosion at the PHC premises in Labhpur took place four days after a blast severely damaged a club building near Mallarpur railway station in the district. The 2 am explosion on Sunday blew away the roof of the single-story building and damaged its walls.

There also the TMC and the BJP blamed each other for the incident.