Farmer seriously injured in mine detonator blast in Jalpaiguri

When a suspected mine detonator burst in Jalpaiguri on Friday, a farmer was seriously injured.

On his farm beside the bank of the Teesta, Debasish Baidya, 22, a native of Gochimari village in the Kranti block of Jalpaiguri district, was engaged in agricultural work.

He picked up a container that resembled a canister after finding it. When it detonated, he was seriously hurt. A source claimed that two more people who were in the area had also been hurt.

Others hurried to help after hearing the blast. Debasish has been admitted to Jalpaiguri's super-specialty hospital.

During the October 4 flash flood, the Teesta carried away army supplies and weapons from the upper regions of Sikkim.

Later on, some of these objects were found in the districts of Jalpaiguri and Cooch Behar.

A little kid had previously attempted to crack open a mortar shell in another village in the Kranti block, which resulted in his death and injuries to his family. Many shells and other objects have been found by the army, which has defused them in abandoned areas.

"It appears that the object that exploded today was a mine detonator, which is also employed by the military. It could have been carried off by the river. We request that locals living on either side of the Teesta not handle these kinds of objects. Such occurrences occur because some people are not paying attention, a police source said.

Police "suicide"

In Jalpaiguri on Friday morning, a police constable assigned to a judge's security detail is reported to have shot himself to death with his service pistol. Ranjit Rajbanshi, 35, was a resident of the Malda district's Harishchandrapur. In the government housing complex in Racecoursepara, Jalpaiguri town, he was discovered dead in his room.