Two killed, 17 injured in Bengal bomb blast

Jalpaiguri (WB), Mar 18 : Two persons were killed and 17 others injured when a powerful bomb strapped to a cycle exploded at a busy marketplace in north Bengal's Alipurduar town on Wednesday.

The cycle-bomb, more familiar in Assam, exploded with a deafening sound at a super market complex at busy Chowpathy in the central part of the town, the Jalpaiguri SP, Ananth Kumar, said.

The bomb was a powerful one, though its exact nature was being ascertained, IG, north Bengal, K L Tamta said.

Asked if it could be the handiwork of the ULFA, he said, "Why should ULFA insurgents come here? Two years ago there was a similar cycle-bomb explosion at Barobisa in the Alipurduar sub-division."

Tamta said the whole area had been cordoned off and the injured had been admitted to a Alipurduar sub-divisional hospital.

One of the two persons killed has been identified as Sujit Das, 27, Tamta said.

Extremists of Kamtapur Liberation Organisation and ULFA are active in the area.