Kolkata: At least four persons were killed after an explosion took place in an allegedly illegal cracker factory in Kalyani of Nadia on Friday afternoon.
The Bengal government has announced a compensation of Rs 2 lakh each for the next of kin of the deceased who died in the blast at the fire crackers’ factory in Nadia’s Kalyani. The state secretariat at Nabanna has already sought a report from the district police. The state government also asked for a separate report from Nadia’s DM on the incident.
Police have registered a case and are looking for the factory owner who fled after the explosion. Meanwhile, BJP MLA Ambika Roy who had gone to the spot faced agitation.
Around 2 pm on Friday, an explosion took place inside a house at Rathtala area in the Ward 20 of Kalyani Municipality. The intensity of the explosion was such that the entire house burnt to ashes. Several people who were inside the house sustained critical burn injuries. Four of them were declared brought dead at the hospital. Another woman is reportedly undergoing treatment at the Kalyani JNM Hospital. It is alleged an illegal cracker factory was run by the owner identified as Khokon.
All the persons who died were women and used to work at the cracker factory. It is further alleged that despite the area being densely populated, several such cracker factories are running there illegally. However, most of the local residents refused to comment on it. Kalyani Municipality authorities have set up a team to conduct an enquiry parallel to the police investigation.
A section of local residents reportedly claimed that they had not seen police in the area despite the factories running for a long time.
It is suspected that a fire had broken out inside the house due to a short circuit. When the fire came in contact with the gun powder, the explosion took place.