Army defuses World War II-era bomb found near river in Bengal's Birbhum

A quiet village near Bolpur in West Bengal’s Birbhum district was jolted into disbelief this week after a live World War II-era bomb was unearthed — its rusted shell carrying echoes of a long-forgotten past.

The explosive, discovered on the banks of the Ajay River in Laudaha village — just miles from the hallowed grounds of Visva-Bharati University founded by Rabindranath Tagore — lay hidden for decades before being spotted by local fishermen. What first appeared to be a harmless metal cylinder soon revealed itself as a dormant remnant of history, still very much alive.

Alerted by villagers, the police swiftly cordoned off the area, urging residents to keep their distance. The army was called in from a nearby base, and after a careful inspection, the bomb was safely detonated under the supervision of Central forces on Wednesday.

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The controlled explosion shattered the stillness of the countryside — its force so intense that tremors rippled through neighbouring villages. “There was panic in the area since the bomb was discovered,” said a senior Birbhum police officer. “We cordoned off the site for safety. The situation is now normal after the successful neutralisation.”

The discovery has left experts and locals alike puzzled. How did a bomb from the 1940s — likely British-made and dropped during World War II — find its way to the quiet banks of Bolpur, remaining undisturbed and active for over eight decades?

The incident has drawn eerie parallels with a similar discovery in Jhargram district last year, where another World War II bomb was recovered during digging operations. Officials later traced its origin to an abandoned wartime airstrip built for fighter planes, from where pilots would jettison bombs to reduce weight before landing.

Now, as the dust settles over Laudaha, the village finds itself at the intersection of curiosity and caution — its people shaken but fascinated that a relic of war, long thought buried in time, could resurface in the land of peace and poetry.

With IANS inputs