Blast at Midnapore ‘cracker’ unit rips building apart, 12 die

BURDWAN REPLAY? Chief minister Mamata Banerjee orders a probe by the state CID, but opposition parties demand an inquiry by the NIA

MIDNAPORE/ BERHAMPORE: A blast ripped through an illegal fireworks factory in rural West Bengal late on Wednesday night, killing about a dozen people ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the state this week.

Chief minister Mamata Banerjee ordered a probe by the state CID, but the opposition pointed fingers at the ruling Trinamool Congress and demanded an inquiry by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

Leaders from the Congress, Left and BJP suggested that the powerful explosion, which sent body parts flying and pulled down the cement-asbestos structure, was reminiscent of an October 2014 incident when two people were killed while making bombs at a house in Burdwan district.

“It is clear as day. It was a Trinamool Congress bomb factory. From there bombs were supplied to different parts of the state even for the recently concluded civic polls,” said CPI(M) leader Sujan Chakraborty. “Police knew everything but looked the other way.”

Last year’s Burdwan blast exposed a terror network of Bangladeshi infiltrators spread over several West Bengal districts and the two people killed while making bombs inside a house were found to be Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) operatives.

Handing over the West Midnapore probe to the CID, Banerjee said the factory at Brahmanbar village manufactured fireworks, though some senior police officials said the blast seemingly involved stronger explosives. “They were making firecrackers for a marriage party. I have asked the CID to find out how could it result into a tragedy of such scale,” she said at a public meeting.

The incident came ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s two-day visit to the state that begins on Saturday.

Many of those killed were minors while four people were injured. The factory operated in a space previously occupied by a poultry unit, with only an iron net separating outsiders from the workers.

“Bombs were being made there,” mumbled Khokon Majhi, a differently-abled man in his mid-thirties who worked at the factory and was injured in the blast. “Suddenly a spark flew in from somewhere and then there was a deafening sound.”

Senior officers of Suti police station in Murshidabad told HT that most of those killed were recruited about 15 days ago from Notun Chandra and Khottahpara, two places under their jurisdiction.

“Last Monday my son came to West Midnapore to work. Today I am looking at his body,” said Abu Kalam, father of a 14-yearold boy who died in the blast.

Pieces of asbestos, chunks of cement, tattered clothes, burnt flesh and body parts were strewn around the site of the explosion that also damaged a few neighbouring homes.

“We have seen explosions in a number of cracker factories. But here things look a bit different,” said BJP MLA Samik Bhattacharya after touring the area with a party delegation. “Bombs were certainly manufactured here with the connivance of police.” Opposition leaders said Ranjan Maiti, the owner of the property, and Ram Maiti, who operated the factory and died in the explosion, were Trinamool Congress members.

“We have arrested (Ranjan) Maiti. We have received complaints that the factory was illegal and it was used for manufacturing bombs. We are looking into all aspects,” said Santosh Mondal, the sub- divisional police officer of the area.

Nirmal Ghosh, Trinamool Congress’ working president in the district, however, said Maiti had no connection with the party.

IT IS CLEAR AS DAY. IT WAS A TRINAMOOL CONGRESS BOMB FACTORY. FROM THERE BOMBS WERE SUPPLIED ACROSS THE STATE. POLICE KNEW EVERYTHING BUT LOOKED THE OTHER WAY.

SUJAN CHAKRABORTY, CPI(M) leader