Burdwan blast case: Was Kolkata Airport the target?

West Bengal: The two women arrested in connection with the October 2 explosion here, have revealed that they were planning to blow up Kolkata airport, reports stated on Tuesday.

According to a news reports, two women - Rajira Bibi alias Rumi, widow of the suspected terriost Shakil Ahmed who died in the blast, and Amina Bibi, Hasan Saheb's wife, who were arrested yesterday told the investigating officers about their plans which also included to blow the airport.

While the plan fell through this time, two of their members, who had delivered four consignments of Improvised explosive device (IED), are at large, which might pose a threat to the nation, as per an English Daily.

Yesterday, the Muslim community here peacefully celebrated Eid al-Adha, which would have otherwise been disrupted with blasts all over the state if the explosion would have taken place.

Meanwhile, the West Bengal government is sending a detailed report to the union home ministry on the Oct 2 blast in Burdwan district that killed two suspected militants, the state police chief said today.

"A detailed report is being sent to the union home ministry about the incident. We are looking into all aspects, including if there are links of any terrorist organisation in the incident," Director General of Police GMP Reddy told media persons after a high-level meeting involving key government and police officials at the state secretariat here.

A red alert has already been sounded across the state with international and state borders being sealed in the wake of blast that took place in a house in Khagragarh area of Burdwan.

Four people, including two women, have been arrested in this connection.

The CID is now on the lookout for two suspects - Kausar and Abdul Kalam Sheikh in connection with the case.

Kausar is suspected to have been a regular at the house in Khagragarh were the blast took place.

Abdul Kalam Sheikh is a resident of Mangalkote area of the district and the investigators are on his trail after they found seven calls made to him from a mobile phone immediately after the blast.

Sovan Mandal and Shakil Ahmed were killed in the blast in the house that the suspected terrorists had rented a few months ago. The police have also interrogated the house owner Hasan Chowdhury.

While the opposition has been demanding a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the Trinamool Congress government has handed over the probe to the CID and constituted a composite task force comprising officers from various state investigating agencies to investigate the blast.    

With Agency inputs