Saturday, December 31 2005 11:07 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Purulia (West Bengal): Maoist extremists exploded bombs near the house of the former Zilla Sabhadhipati at a village in the extremist-sensitive Purulia district in the early hours today (Dec 31, 2005).

The Purulia District Magistrate, Mukul Kanti Sarkar, said that the house of the Zilla Sabhadhipati, Rabindranath Kar of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), was on fire, though the fate of Kar and any other person inside the house was not known as yet.

Kar said that a large number of Maoists gathered near the Kar's house at Bhomragarh village in the Bandaan police station area at about three am and blasted the bombs.

A large police force, led by additional superintendent of police Tapas Ranjan Ghose, has rushed to the village and is searching the area.

Both the district magistrate and the additional SP said that casualties were not known.