Hours after Mamata's Supreme Court probe demand into Ajit Pawar's death, BJP seeks same for Nazirabad fire

Kolkata: The BJP on Wednesday criticised West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for her comments on the death of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in a plane crash and asked her to focus on "ensuring justice for the families of victims" of the Nazirabad fire on Kolkata’s outskirts.

The fire, which broke out in two adjacent godowns in the early hours of January 26 and raged for over 24 hours, claimed at least eight lives.

Hours after Banerjee demanded a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into Pawar’s death, alleging that all other probe agencies had been completely compromised, senior BJP leader Amit Malviya said the investigation into the Nazirabad fire should also be handed over to an SC-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT).

"We trust only the Supreme Court. All other agencies have been completely compromised," Banerjee told reporters here.

Pawar (66) and four others were killed after an aircraft carrying them crashed near Baramati in Pune district on Wednesday morning.

Lashing at the TMC supremo for her comments on Pawar's death, Malviya said, "Banerjee, instead of making insensitive remarks on the unfortunate demise of Pawar, must focus on ensuring justice and timely relief for the fire victims' families in West Bengal." "Given the abysmal track record of her administration, it would be in the interest of justice to hand over the investigation to a Supreme Court-monitored SIT to thoroughly probe the tragic incident and fix accountability, since it is the only institution she seems to trust," Malvya, BJP national executive member and IT cell co-in-charge in West Bengal, said.

She must also explain why her (Fire services) minister Sujit Bose failed to reach the accident site for nearly 32 hours. "Such negligence is unacceptable," he said.

The people of Bengal deserve answers, accountability, and compassion, not diversion and misinformation, Malvya highlighted.

At least eight people died and many remained untraced in the fire incident. The blaze erupted around 3 am on Monday at the two godowns and could be fully extinguished after more than 24 hours.

Malviya also claimed that Bangla Pokkho, "sponsored by Trinamool Congress", had claimed on social media that 50 people died in the devastating fire.

Search operations are still on as rescuers rummage through the black soot-covered debris to locate missing workers and recover bodies.