5 killed in Jalpaiguri blast....Kamtapur Liberation Organization signature in Jalpaiguri cycle bomb?

Police officers at the site of a blast in Jalpaiguri 

Pinak Priya Bhattacharya,TNN | Dec 27, 2013, JALPAIGURI: A powerful IED blast ripped through a crowd of pedestrians on a bridge near the BDO office in Jalpaiguri town, North Bengal, killing five people and injuring nine on Thursday evening.

The bomb was fitted to a cycle. It is not yet known if it exploded while being taken somewhere or the cyclist was himself a human bomb.

The cyclist was blown to bits and the nine pedestrians suffered horrific injuries. Blood, flesh and bone was splattered all across the bridge. "Though nobody has taken responsibility, we suspect ​Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO), which is observing its Martyr's Day," said SP Amit P Javalgi.

It's the first bomb blast in Jalpaiguri and the townspeople are terrified. Only a day earlier, the SP had told CID that KLO is receiving support from Maoists and underground groups in the Northeast. Security was tight in North Bengal since Thursday morning but it couldn't prevent the blast. Police are now on the tenterhooks for KLO raising day on Saturday.

Around 7.30pm, witnesses saw a cyclist pedal away from the BDO office towards Paharpur. He was crossing a small bridge on a nullah in Bajrapara when the blast occurred. It was so powerful that it rattled people 2km away. "While the cyclist and three others were beyond help, we took 11 people to Jalpaiguri Sadar Hospital. Two of them died a short while later. There was panic and chaos all around after the blast," a rescuer said. The cyclist, who was blown in half from the waist, has not been identified.

IG (North Bengal) Sashikant Pujari and other senior officers have rushed to the spot. So has Jalpaiguri municipality chairman Mohan Bose.

Initial probe revealed the use of a powerful explosive and a timer device, said an officer. Top KLO leader Shyam Rai is suspected to have returned recently after being trained by NDFB (IK) in Myanmar. Cycle bombs are a KLO trademark.

IG (HQ) Anuj Sharma said in Kolkata that CID, state IB and other security agencies are being sent to Jalpaiguri. "Several innocent people were killed in the blast and we are extremely aggrieved. The government is keeping a watch on the developments," he said.

Pinak Priya Bhattacharya,TNN | Dec 27, 2013, JALPAIGURI: The Kamtapur Liberation Organization (KLO) of the northeast is believed to be behind the blast in Jalpaiguri on Thursday that killed five people. Initial probe revealed the use of a powerful explosive and a timer device, said an officer.

Top KLO leader Shyam Rai is suspected to have returned recently after being trained by NDFB (IK) in Myanmar. Cycle bombs are a KLO trademark. If police suspicions are true, this would be the first such extremist attack in the town.

Only a day earlier, SP Amit P Javalgi had informed the CID that KLO was receiving support from Maoists and underground groups in the northeast.

Around 7.30pm on Thursday, witnesses saw a cyclist pedal away from the BDO office towards Paharpur. He was crossing a small bridge on a nullah in Bajrapara when the blast occurred, the impact of which was felt around 2km away. "While the cyclist and three others were beyond help, we took 11 people to Jalpaiguri Sadar Hospital. Two of them died a short while later," a witness said. The cyclist has not been identified.

IG (North Bengal) Sashikant Pujari and other senior officers have rushed to the spot. Jalpaiguri municipality chairman Mohan Bose is also at the site.

IG (HQ) Anuj Sharma said in Kolkata that CID, state IB and other security agencies are being sent to Jalpaiguri. "Several innocent people were killed in the blast and we are extremely aggrieved. The government is keeping a watch on the developments," he said.