BJP slams TMC government, demands NIA probe as blast at firecracker unit kills eight

Kolkata: After eight members of a family were killed in multiple explosions at a house in the Pathar Pratima block in the South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday criticised the ruling Trinamool Congress government and demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the incident.

The explosion at the house of Chandrakanta Banik and his brother Tushar Banik late on Monday resulted in the immediate death of four children, including six-month-old twins, two senior citizens, and a woman. Another critically injured woman was taken to a hospital, where she died early on Tuesday, taking the toll to eight.

The series of explosions was triggered when a domestic Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) cylinder at the two-storey house blew off and resulted in an inferno. This was followed by blasts in the huge stockpile of firecrackers and inflammable materials used to manufacture firecrackers kept in the house.

Chandrakanta and Tushar were running a firecracker factory at the house. Supratim Sarkar, Additional Director General of Police (South Bengal), said that the investigators were trying to find out if they had a valid license to manufacture and store firecrackers. Chandrakanta had once been arrested for illegally storing, manufacturing and selling firecrackers in 2022. He and his brother, however, allegedly continued running the factory.

"We are finding out whether Chandrakanta and Tushar had a proper license for manufacturing or storing firecrackers. We have filed cases under relevant sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita,” said Sarkar.

The brothers were not at home when the explosion took place.

“They were running the business for quite some time, and I have information that they had the license. Last night, the blast took place in their house. Probably, they had stored some raw materials for firecracker production there, leading to this disaster,” Samir Jana, the local MLA of the ruling TMC, said.

“There is some human failure behind it. The primary responsibility to prevent accidents and enforce the law relating to this is with the government. The officials have to be very vigilant, and they should take more proactive steps in this regard,” Governor C V Ananda Bose said, expressing condolences over the death of eight people in the incident.

There have been several similar fatal blasts at small firecracker manufacturing factories in the past in West Bengal. Twelve people were killed in a similar blast at Khadikul in the Purba Medinipur district on May 16, 2023, followed by another at Budge Budge in the South 24 Parganas district on May 21, 2023, resulting in the death of two persons. A woman was killed in a blast at a firecracker manufacturing plant in a village at Champahati in the South 24 Parganas district of the state. Five people were killed in another firecracker manufacturing unit at Rathtala in the Nadia district of the state on February 7 this year.

“Was it really just a firecracker factory? Or, was it yet another bomb-making den backed by the Trinamool Congress?” BJP state president Sukanta Majumdar said. “Why are illegal bomb factories flourishing under TMC’s watch?”

The BJP has demanded a probe by the NIA into the incident. The TMC, however, dismissed the BJP’s demand, stating that the police were already investigating the case.

“How many more tragedies will take place before serious action is taken? The DGP @WBPolice must answer why the State of West Bengal is sitting on a pile of crude bombs? Absolutely no accountability for such incidents in WB. The inefficient Police Minister Mamata Banerjee is to be blamed for allowing this to happen,” Suvendu Adhikari, the state BJP heavyweight and the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, posted on X.