BURDWAN: The NIA team probing the Khagragarh blast went to the Simulia madrassa that is believed to be a homegrown centre for training terrorists, around 38km from the blast site, on Sunday — the day after it took over charge of the probe from CID.

The madrassa has come to the spotlight since it has links to all suspects tracked so far. The CID, which was probing the incident before NIA took over, had come to know of it from the two women — Alima Bibi and Rajira alias Razia Bibi — who had initially been arrested.

In a coordinated move, Malda police is questioning the person who ran this unrecognized madrassa, who they suspect to be the dreaded Yousuf Sk.

The person, who had been detained, had given interrogators a fake name and address, which increased their suspicion.

At Simulia, NIA found five telephone numbers scribbled in diaries, including one belonging to suspected terrorist Rafiqul Islam from Assam's Barpeta. Police claimed that Rafiqul used to frequent this madrassa.

On Saturday, locals had tipped the agency of an orange Tata Nano with Bengal numberplates lying abandoned along the main road, about 100 metres from the Simulia madrassa.

Surprisingly, police did not seize the vehicle till Sunday, when they learnt that the absconding Yousuf Sk and Burhan Sk — the two suspected terrorists who ran the madrassa — used the car.

In Mongolkote's Kuarpur, locals intercepted five people along with a cache of arms. Though two of whom fled, the others were taken to Sadar police station for interrogation by NIA.

Case transferred to Kolkata court

A Burdwan district judge has directed the transfer of the blast case to a Kolkata court. Acting district judge Suresh Bishwakarma directed acting chief judicial magistrate Payel Bandopadhyay to transfer the case and send the documents to that court through a special messenger. He also directed CID to produce the four arrested people before the Kolkata court on October 13. NIA officers feared that important evidence, such as fingerprints, could have been destroyed because local residents had touched the orange Tata Nano, as it hadn't been seized by the cops.

On Sunday, the seven-member NIA team, headed by IG Sanjeev Kumar Singh and SP Vikram Khalate, along with a Central Forensic Science Laboratory expert, reached the village at 4pm. They inspected the madrassa as the forensic experts collected samples. Burdwan SP SMH Meerza and the Mangalkote OC Sanjoy Kundu accompanied them.

The NIA team — including officers from its Kolkata, New Delhi and Guwahati units — had reached the Burdwan SP's office at 2.30pm. They proceeded to Khagragarh along with the Burdwan SP to investi gate the house in which the blast had occurred. A source said that the NIA officials could reconstruct the sequence of events that led to the blast.

Apparently , Shovan Mondal had been making the IED, with a timer attached, while Shakeel Gazi was sitting beside him. The main door was closed. Hasan was present in the next room.The two babies and the two women were in the third room. “While making the bomb, Shovan cut the wrong wire, leading to the blast. Shakeel, who was training him, died on the spot and Shovan passed away in hospital. A portion of the door was blown away in the impact, and Hasan, who was sitting in the next room, suffered splinter injuries,“ a source added.