Eight members of a family are killed in the blast at a house in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district. Another person, who had around 75 per cent burnt injuries, died on Tuesday morning. Among the deceased members, four are children. The unfortunate incident was triggered after a gas cylinder blast that happened at the house in Dholahat in Pathar Pratima on Monday night.
The deceased is identified as Sutapa Jain, she succumbed to her injuries at the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata this morning. "Sutapa Jana had almost 75 per cent burn injuries and she died at the SSKM Hospital in Kolkata this morning," a police officer said.
Two six-month old babies among the deceased
The other deceased were identified as Prabhabati Banik (80), Arabinda Banik (65), Swantana Banik (28), Arnab Banik (9), Anushka Banik (6), and two six-month-old babies, Asmita and Ankit, he said. Superintendent of Police of Sunderban Koteswara Rao said 11 members of the family used to live in the two-storied house where the incident happened.
Police discard the firecracker unit update
As per SP Rao, there was no firecracker manufacturing unit in the house and it was a residential building. For unversed, soon after the blast, it was said that the family was illegaly manufacturing firecrackers. "(To suggest) that there was a firecracker manufacturing unit running inside the house is wrong. It was a residential building. No firecracker unit was operating there," he told PTI. "The building is situated in a residential area, and there is no question of a firecracker unit there," he asserted. Rao said it needs to be examined whether some items found in the house were raw materials for manufacturing firecrackers. "We will go by the forensic report," he said.
Pathar Pratima's TMC MLA Samir Kumar Jana said the family owned an authorised firecracker manufacturing unit a few metres away from the house. "They were running the business for quite some time, and I have the information that they had the license. Last night, the blast took place in their house. Probably they had stored some raw materials to manufacture firecrackers there, leading to this disaster," he said.
Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari alleged that the building where the incident happened was a "crude bomb manufacturing unit". "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?" he posted on X.
"Absolutely no accountability for such incidents in WB.The inefficient Police Minister Mamata Banerjee is to be blamed for allowing this to happen," he added.
(PTI inputs)
