Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee and Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan had a narrow escape on Sunday when a landmine exploded within minutes of their convoy passing through Baroa near Salboni in Maoist-infested West Midnapore district, leaving six policemen injured.
A directional landmine blast took place at Baroa, 17 km from Salboni, from where the West Bengal CM, Paswan, state industry minister Nirupam Sen and industrialist Sajjan Jindal were returning after laying the foundation stone of Jindal Steel Works plant, police said.
The chief minister, the union minister and others were safe, inspector general of police (Western Range), Kuldeep Singh told PTI. But six policemen were injured in the blast and the condition of one of them was stated to be serious.
"It was a powerful blast and the overhead high tension line snapped and fell on one of the spare pilot cars and as a result, the vehicle was partially burnt," Singh said.
Asked about who could be responsible for the blast, IG (Law and order) Raj Kanojia told PTI, "As the whole district is Maoist-dominated, we must zero in on them only".
The attack came despite massive deployment of security forces and the presence of a large number of Communist Party of India-Marxist and Democratic Youth Federation of India volunteers.
On whether there was a lapse in the security of the chief minister, Kanojia said, "The details are yet to come and I will be able to speak clearly after I get the whole details".
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