Bengal firecracker unit blast toll rises to 9; Mamata slams police as BJP seeks NIA probe

The toll in the blast at an illegal firecracker factory in West Bengal's North 24 Parganas district rose to nine on Monday, as Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused a section of the police force of being hand in gloves with certain people involved in illegal activities.

While the police arrested one person, stated to be a business partner of the factory owner, in connection with the explosion at Moshpole in Duttapukur area, the opposition BJP demanded an NIA probe into the incident.

The death figure in the blast that took place the day before increased to nine as a head-less body was recovered from a pond, while the head was found in the courtyard of a neighbouring house, a police officer said.

One severed hand and two fingers were also found in the surrounding areas of the explosion site.

“It has come to my notice lately that the police are not taking action against some illegal activities. Not all of them are a part of this, as many police officers are very hardworking. The majority of police personnel are doing their duty with utmost sincerity, but few are helping such people,' the chief minister said while addressing a rally in Kolkata.

She also asked people to manufacture green manufactures.

"What is the problem in manufacturing green firecrackers? The profit might be a bit less, but it is safer and environment-friendly," Banerjee said.

Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari of the BJP wondered why the administration is yet to take action against illegal firecracker units.

"Several similar incidents of blasts at illegal firecracker factories took place last year. Several people including children have died. These factories were later found to be manufacturing crude bombs. This bomb-making industry is flourishing in Bengal because of the nexus of the TMC goons and the police," Adhikari said.

He also demanded an NIA probe into the explosion.

“Before all the evidence is destroyed, the state government must immediately hand over the probe to the NIA. We have also filed a PIL before the Calcutta High Court," Adhikari told reporters.

The saffron party members staged a walkout from the assembly on Monday, protesting against the incident.

Adhikari, along with other BJP MLAs, also paid a visit to the blast site in Duttapukur and spoke to the locals there.

During its investigation, the police arrested a man and charged him with several sections of the Explosives Act and IPC.

A CID officer said that they found there were no safety measures at the illegal factory where explosive materials were stored under the pretext of a godown to keep onions and potatoes.

"Several chemicals and powder have been found inside the godown. We suspect they are Ammonium Nitrate and Potassium Chlorate. The materials have been sent for chemical testing," he said.

The CID also unearthed another illegal firecracker unit being operational behind the veil of a brick kiln at Berunanpukhuria, within one kilometre of the Moshpole unit, the officer said.

On Monday morning, a team of the West Bengal State Commission for Protection of Child Rights reached Duttapukur and spoke to locals as well as the investigating officers.

"We have come here because a couple of children were injured in the blast. We are speaking to the police and local people to understand what actually happened and how these children are involved in the blast," a Commission official said.

Police said the owner of the illegal firecracker factory and his son were also killed in the blast.

Local people alleged that despite complaining to the police regarding the illegal firecracker unit earlier, no action was taken.

"Now, when so many lives have been lost, what will the police do by arresting people? They should have taken action when we had complained to them," Ratan Hasan Ali, a local, said.

The Congress' state president Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury visited the area and talked to the local people.

"The investigation will give us the real picture. It's the responsibility of the state government to find out from where so many explosives were brought in here. But why are the state government and CM Mamata Banerjee mum?" Chowdhury said.

Sources in the state secretariat said that at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting, the chief minister expressed her unhappiness over the explosion and questioned the role of the police.

"Was the IC (Inspector in charge) sleeping there?" Banerjee, who is also the Police minister, questioned Chief Secretary H K Dwivedi at the meeting.

The IC of Duttapukur Police Station and Officer in Charge of Nijganj police outpost were suspended, the source said.

Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights Chairperson Priyank Kanoongo on Monday wrote to Chief Secretary to take legal action and send a detailed list of all the children injured and died in the blast, the treatment they are getting and the amount of compensation paid.