Army defuses World War II-era bomb found near river in Bengal's Birbhum, tremors felt in villages

Kolkata, Oct 23 (IANS) Mystery has surfaced in a village near Bolpur in Birbhum district of West Bengal following the recovery of a live World War II-era bomb there.

Although the Army personnel posted at a nearby base successfully defused the bomb recovered from Laudaha village near Bolpur, which houses the iconic Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore-founded Visva Bharati University, a mystery has cropped up as to how the bomb was brought to that spot and remained unattended for so long.

The Army personnel defused the bomb on Wednesday by safely exploding it. The impact of the explosion was so massive that tremors were felt in nearby villages.

It is learnt that the local fishermen first noticed an unknown cylinder-like metal object on the banks of the Ajay River in Laudaha village under the Bolpur police station, about a month ago. However, initially, they did not give much importance, and finally, the matter was brought to the notice of the police.

The area was cordoned off, and the police asked local people not to go near the site. Later, Army officials were informed, who made inspections before deciding to defuse the bomb. The bomb was neutralised under the supervision of the Central forces.

It was surprising to see that even over 80 years after World War II, the bomb was active.

"The bomb was defused yesterday in the presence of Army officials. There was panic in the area since the bomb was discovered. We had cordoned off the area for the safety of others. The situation has now improved after the bomb was neutralised," said a senior officer of Birbhum district police on Thursday morning.

It may be recalled that last year, another World War II bomb was recovered in Jhargram district. A cylindrical object was recovered while digging in the soil in Bhulanpur village of Gopiballabhpur police station in Jhargram. On receiving the news, administrative officials went to the spot. The area was cordoned off. The bomb squad also arrived after receiving the news. Later, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said on social media that the bomb was successfully defused.

It was learnt that during World War II, an air strip was built in Jhargram for fighter planes to land. It is said that various fighter planes would drop bombs in that area to reduce weight.

--IANS

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