In yet another gruesome culmination of police-politician-unscrupulous businessmen nexus at least 8 people including four toddlers were charred to death in an explosion inside an illegal fire cracker factory at Patharpratima village off Diamond Harbour in South 24 Parganas. Most of the victims were the relatives of the owner of the factory Chandrakanta Banik an alleged local Trinamool Congress worker. He was arrested hours after the incident that occurred late on Monday evening.
This was the eighth such incident in the past two years or so to snuff out more than three dozen lives.
“There have been eight deaths … and the cause of investigation is being looked into,” Koteshwar Rao South 24 Parganas Superintendant of Police said.
The local Sub-Divisional Magistrate quoting “primary investigations” confirmed 8 deaths adding the tragedy occurred following an explosion in a gas cylinder. “A huge stockpile of explosives that had apparently been kept for manufacture of crackers for Basanti Puja (Navaratra celebrations) went off following a previous explosion in gas cylinder,” a senior police officer said denying reports that they were in the know of the goings on in the house.
“The incident could have been far worse and you would have seen 22 more deaths had a coaching class that runs adjacent to the explosion site not given away barely ten minutes before as the children wanted to watch the KKR match,” the teacher running the coaching unit said adding “I saw the inmates charred to death in front of my eyes … I even tried to save them but could not as there was continuous blast that caused the concrete roof to blow away,” said the teacher of the coaching unit.Angry villagers including the father in-law of the accused slammed the local police and MLA Samir Jana for allowing the illegal cracker unit to run with impunity.
“The police officers came every month, collect their cash and have good means and go away … repeatedly complaints have been written to the SDO office and the police but no action was taken,” said one of the villagers adding Banik was a member of the TMC while his brother was in the BJP. “He has a good rapport with MLA Samir Jana … even the MLA’s son comes here to purchase crackers,” he said.
