A 58-year-old man, who was said to be rummaging through a garbage bin, was seriously injured when a suspected bomb exploded inside it at the intersection of SN Banerjee Road and Blochmann Street in the Taltala area on Saturday afternoon.
Bapi Das’s right wrist was severely hit when the bomb went off around 1.45pm on the busy SN Road that connects Moulali with the Dorina crossing in Esplanade, police said.
He was immediately removed and admitted to NRS Medical College and Hospital.
Doctors there said that Das, from Ichhapore in North 24-Parganas, suffered heavy blood loss because his wrist injury. His condition is stable now, they added on Saturday evening.
Preliminary police investigation suggests a crude bomb was kept inside a plastic bag and dumped in the garbage bin near the intersection.
Das was rummaging through the contents when the explosion took place.
The sound took a section of shop owners on SN Banerjee Road and its adjoining area and bystanders by surprise in the afternoon.
“The explosion was quite intense. I was inside a room and came running at the sound of the explosion,” said a 62-year-old man who did not want to be named.
A section of shop owners who have their establishments opposite the erstwhile Lotus cinema hall on SN Banerjee Road jumped to rescue the injured man.
Others informed Taltala police station.
The spot was immediately cordoned off, the crowd pushed back and personnel from the bomb disposal squad were called for.
A team arrived shortly and scanned the plastic bag and other items that lay strewn around while the movement of Esplanade-bound traffic was stopped temporarily.
After the bomb disposal squad members sanitised the area and gave a “go ahead” signal to the police, traffic was allowed to move.
“Traffic was disrupted for a short while the bomb detection squad members scanned the blast spot. We have collected some items and sent them for forensic tests,” a senior police officer said.
“The area has been cordoned off with guard rails and forensic experts would visit the spot.”
The police said initial questioning revealed Das did not have a specific job and would roam around the city’s streets collecting items, even from garbage and dustbins.
“We are investigating how a bomb could have found its way into the plastic packet. CCTV footage is being scanned,” the officer said.