National Security Adviser Ajit Doval (second from left) inspects Burdwan blast site
National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's most trusted officers, today met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, whose government has been accused of mishandling the investigation into the blast in Burdwan on October 2 and ignoring rising lawlessness near the border with Bangladesh.
Earlier in the day, Mr Doval visited Burdwan where the blast has raised fears about a terror plot with international links.
Two suspected Bangladeshi militants were killed in what appears to be an accidental blast in a rented house where bombs were being assembled. Four persons, including two women have been arrested; one of them is the wife of a terror suspect who died in the blast.
Sources say Mr Doval will urge Ms Banerjee to cooperate with central investigators. The state police have been accused of multiple lapses in the blast probe.
The arrested persons allegedly told the police about another house where more bomb-makers were allegedly hiding, a kilometer away from the blast site. Eight days after the state police searched and sealed the house, the National Investigation Agency found 39 crude bombs in one of its toilets.
The Chief Minister, however, defended her forces, saying, "Our police have done a good job."
On Saturday, National Investigation Agency chief Sharad Kumar inspected the house where the blast took place. The agency later said that all four arrested persons are members of the terror group, Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh. It also said that the accused were preparing crude bombs to transport them to Bangladesh for possible terror attacks.
The Centre is worried about a larger plot to destabilize a friendly government in Bangladesh. A dossier being prepared by the government will be shared with Dhaka, which had sought details on the case.