Death toll in West Bengal’s illegal firecracker factory in North 24 Parganas district on Sunday rose to nine, with two more deaths who were admitted into a government hospital, official sources said on Monday.
Keramat Ali, one of the accused of running the factory at the residential area of Duttapukur, and Samsul Ali, also a partner of the factory, succumbed to their wounds at the Barasat Medical Hospital, sources added.
On Sunday’s blast, there were altogether seven casualties, and as many left wounded; three of them were women.
The blast happened around 10-30 AM in the residential area of Nilgunj-Moshpole under Duttapukur police station, and the immediate impact was the two-storied house was flattened and some other residences in the vicinity were damaged.
Eyewitnesses said the explosion did not not cause flames, but thick black smoke covered the whole area. They said the explosion might have happened when the workers of the illegal factory were drying the firecrackers on the roof.
Scores of sacks stacked with firecrackers – chocolate bomb, a banned item – were found in another godown, which fortunately was not affected in the massive explosion, sources added.
They said the workers were mostly hired from the Murshidabad district, another neighbor complained.
The blast happened at the house of Samshul Ali, which the police came to know while probing the massive blast.
A separate report said a mutilated body was found in a pond filled with hyacinth. The pond is some distance away from the scene of the blast.
Local people, after seeing the half-drowned body, informed the police, who recovered the body, which had no head.
It was not immediately confirmed if the victim was a casualty of the blast. The CID began an investigation and collected samples from the site.
The leader of the opposition, Suvendu Adhikari, told the reporters that he would visit the site on Monday.
This is a very serious matter, as it adds to the series of “Serial Blasts” which keep happening in WB.” In the month of May, Egra, Budge Budge & Dubrajpur were on the list.
Thereafter, on June 1, Maheshnagar in Nadia district witnessed such a blast,” he tweeted.
I am very concerned about the state of affairs and the repetitive incidents of explosions. So I have decided to take certain steps. I would approach the Calcutta High Court for NIA Investigation in the said matter by filing a Public Interest Litigation,” as the Leader of Opposition of the State of West Bengal.
‘I, along with my fellow BJP MLAs, would move an “adjournment motion” in the West Bengal Legislative Assembly on Monday. regarding this matter so that we can seek answers from the government as to why they are so ineffective in controlling such illegal firecracker units.”
He said a delegation of BJP MLAs would start their journey from the Assembly to the blast site at Duttapukur, North 24 Parganas district, to survey the area and converse with the local people.” Adhikari said.
