West Bengal: Blast in plastic factory in Malda kills 6, several injured

Six persons died in an explosion at a plastic factory in West Bengal’s Malda district on Thursday. Several others have been injured and five of them are in a critical condition. They are undergoing treatment at a district hospital.

Sources in the district police said that the incident took place in the Sujapur area of Malda and all the dead and injured people were workers of the factory.

"While four persons died on the spot, the injured were taken to the Malda Medical College and Hospital where one succumbed to his injuries. Among the injured five are in critical condition. We have noticed a mechanical fault in the machine,” said a senior district police official.

"We have noticed mechanical fault in the machine,” said the police official.

The death toll might increase further. Fire tenders rushed to the spot soon after the incident and doused the flames. A large police contingent has been deployed at the spot.

Speaking to journalists at the State Secretariat, chief secretary Alapon Bandyopadhyay said that the next of kin of those who lost their lives in the incident would each be provided compensation of Rs 2 lakh and those who sustained injuries would be provided Rs 50,000.

“Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim will soon reach the spot on a helicopter. We are in constant touch with the Superintendent of Police and District Magistrate of Malda,” he said.

Later, speaking to journalists later at Sujapur, Hakim said that “it was a very powerful explosion."

BJP has criticised the state government over the incident, alleging that illegal bombs were being made there in the name of the plastic factory.

“Whenever elections approach such bomb factories are discovered in Bengal. One such example is the incident at Sujapur where in the guise of a plastic factory illegal bombs were being made. We demand an NIA probe into the incident,” said BJP MP from Malda Uttar constituency Khagen Murmu.

However, the state’s Home Department stated that the incident had nothing to do with illegal bomb-making.“The Malda Sujapur plastic factory accident today is related to manufacturing process issues and has got nothing to do with illegal bomb-making, as suggested non-responsibly by some quarters,” the Home Department tweeted.

“DM and SP on spot have been reporting to state officers after urgent inquiries and compensation steps have been taken. A senior Minister has flown to site and it is time to be factually correct. Government is helping the victims and their families,” it stated in another tweet.