Coronation Bridge blast: Line producer of web series arrested

Siliguri: A day after the controversial ‘blast’ on the Sevoke Coronation Bridge in Kalimpong, the line producer of the production unit of the web series has been arrested, and the officer in charge of the Sevoke outpost has been removed from duty.

On Thursday, a truck was blown up at the historic British-era infrastructure in Kalimpong during the shoot of a web series.

A truck, set on fire, exploded and sent huge clouds of black smoke billowing into the air as flames engulfed the entire vehicle.

The Kalimpong Police arrested the crew’s line producer Chaitali Bandyopadhyay last night and filed cases against her under multiple sections.

According to sources, the police officials of the Sevoke outpost were present at the spot during the shooting. The line producer will be produced at Kalimpong court on Friday.

Superintendent of Police, Kalimpong District, Aparajita Rai, told EastMojo on Thursday, “As per preliminary inputs, it was a film shooting this morning. An enquiry has been initiated. No prior permission was taken.”

A 22-km stretch known as the Chicken’s Neck Corridor connects the Northeast region with the rest of India. While on one side of this corridor is Bangladesh, on the other side is Nepal, making it strategically important. On this narrow corridor lies the Coronation Bridge, also known as the Sevoke Bridge, over the Teesta river. The Coronation Bridge was named as such to commemorate the coronation of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth in 1937. The bridge was completed at a cost of Rs 4 lakh in 1941.

Despite its age and poor upkeep, the bridge still serves its purpose to connect the Northeast with the rest of India and forms the most important connect between North Bengal and the Northeast, while also connecting districts like Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri with the rest of Bengal. Transportation of essentials and movement of security forces are also dependent on this bridge.