Kolkata:
A blast occurred at the National Medical College Hospital (NMCH) in Kolkata this morning. A sweeper from the hospital was injured.
The incident occurred at around 8 am when sweepers were cleaning the area near the outdoor emergency ward. The explosive was present inside a packet which was placed on a bicycle.
"As they (sweepers) threw it out, it hit the wall and exploded," said NMCH principal Siddhartha Chakraborty.
Sweeper Amit Das suffered splinter injuries in his hand, leg, eye and stomach. "One sweeper was injured. He has been admitted to the eye ward of the hospital. But no patients were injured," said Chandrima Bhattacharya, Minister of state for Health, West Bengal.
"It seems some miscreants kept an explosive substance outdoor, which went off. The police and bomb disposal squad personnel are at the spot. They have conducted a thorough search and given us permission to open it," she said.
The minister said the hospital authorities have been asked to conduct an inquiry and submit a report by Sunday.
"If it is found that somebody attached with the hospital is involved, we will take the strongest possible action," she said.