West Bengal Minister of State for Labour Jakir Hossain was injured in at bomb attack late on Wednesday evening at Nimtita in Murshidabad district. Mr Hossain, MLA from Jangipur in Murshidabd district is also a prominent industrialist who owns one of the biggest bidi manufacturing factories in the State.
According to reports, the Minister was targeted when he was boarding a train to Kolkata at Nimtita Railway station. He has sustained serious injuries and had been admitted to Jangipur Subdivision Hospital. Videos of attack that surfaced on social media and were aired by local television channels showed the Minister along with supporters walking on Nimtita platform number two when a huge explosion occurred. Eyewitness said that Mr. Hossain sustained injuries in his leg and attempts are being made to bring him to Kolkata for treatment.
Abu Taher, the Trinamool Congress district president of Murshidabad said that the party has requested police to take action against those responsible for the attack. State Congress president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury and Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh condemned the attack and raised questions about the law-and-order situation in West Bengal. While there have been instances of MLAs being targeted and killed this is the first occasion in recent times that a Minister of the State government has been attacked publicly in the state.
