No evidence of arms seizure in Sandeshkhali, recovered items might be brought by CBI: Mamata Banerjee

The Trinamool Congress also stated that several people were injured after a bomb exploded at the home of a relative of a BJP leader in the Basirhat assembly constituency.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stated on April 27 that there was "no evidence" of a arms seizure in Sandeshkhali, claiming that CBI teams conducted searches without telling the state police. She claimed this while speaking at an election rally for TMC's Asansol Lok Sabha candidate, Shatrughan Sinha.

As per PTI reports, she expressed scepticism regarding the operations, stating that the recovered items "might have been brought by officials of the central agency". "If a firecracker goes off in Bengal, the NIA, CBI, NSG are coming to investigate. It seems that a war is going on. The state police were not informed. It is not known what was found. There was no evidence. The seized items might have been brought by them (CBI) in a car," Banerjee said.

The searches in Sandeshkhali, a riverine delta on the outskirts of the Sunderbans in North 24 Parganas district, included teams from the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the bomb detection squad, the National Security Guard (NSG), the central paramilitary forces, and the West Bengal police.

The CBI recovered weapons and ammunition on Friday, including a police service revolver and foreign-made firearms, during searches of two Sandeshkhali homes owned by an acquaintance of now-suspended TMC leader Shajahan Sheikh, according to officials. The searches were carried out in connection with a January attack on an Enforcement Directorate (ED) team by a crowd reportedly led by Sheikh, who West Bengal Police detained on February 29 in the case.

The West Bengal Chief Minister also said, "Today, I heard there was an incident near Sandeshkhali. A BJP leader had stored bombs in his house. They think that they can win the elections by cancelling (school) jobs and with bombs. We want ’roti, kapda, makaan’ and jobs for the people, not their lofty speeches."

She was implying to the Calcutta High Court's decision on school jobs. The State Level Selection Test-2016 (SLST) recruiting procedure in West Bengal government-sponsored and aided schools was deemed "null and void" by the court, and all appointments made through it were cancelled.

The Trinamool Congress also stated that several people were injured after a bomb exploded at the home of a relative of a BJP leader in the Basirhat assembly constituency.