Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee apologises to kin of victims of cracker factory blast

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee visited Egra in East Midnapore district on Saturday and apologised to the families that lost 10 members in a blast at an illegal firecracker factory at Khadikul village on May 16.

“I bow my head and apologise to the affected families for this incident. Let me know if I can help you in any other way,” Banerjee said after giving out cheques for ₹2.5 lakh to each family and a government job as compensation.

Krishnapada Bag, the 11th victim and owner of the factory, died at a private hospital in neighbouring Odisha hours after his arrest. The explosion ripped apart the factory shed and the bodies of the deceased, who were all employees, were charred and mutilated beyond recognition, police said. Bag’s wife and nephew have been arrested.

On May 16, the chief minister, who is also in charge of the home department, ordered a probe by the criminal Investigation Department (CID).

Banerjee admitted on Saturday that senior police officers had no intelligence input on the factory while the officer-in-charge (OC) of Egra police station sat on repeated complaints from Khadikul residents.

She said: “I urge local people to maintain vigil and inform the OC if anyone makes illegal firecrackers. If the OC doesn’t act, inform me. I will transfer him. The OC who served here has been transferred because he did not act on repeated complaints. Senior officers did not have intelligence inputs. Otherwise, this would not have happened.”

The villagers heckled the OC of Egra police station, Mousam Chakraborty, when he reached the blast site on May 16 alleging that he did nothing although six explosions took place at the same factory in recent years. Krishnapada Bag was injured in one of those incidents, they claimed.

The chief minister said: “The deaths at the illegal firecracker factory have opened our eyes. We have set up a committee headed by the chief secretary. A lot of people work in illegal firecracker factories. I will ensure that they don’t lose their jobs. The government will set up clusters at locations away from human habitations. Factory owners can set up units at these clusters but only to produce environment-friendly green crackers.”

“Making firecrackers is illegal. But many give in to greed. This incident is an eye-opener. I have come here to express my grief for the affected families and help them. We are giving each family ₹2.5 lakh. One member from each family will also be recruited as home guards,” she added.

Gaurango Maity, who lost his son and brother, said: “The ex-gratia amount is not much but it will help us for some time. It is the job that is important.”

The blast triggered a political row in Bengal.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Sukanta Majumdar alleged that powerful bombs were being made at the factory to create violence during the forthcoming panchayat polls.

The BJP, which controls the local gram panchayat at Khadikul, moved the Calcutta high court demanding a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA). On May 18, the court directed the CID to continue with its investigation.

“Some people tried to politicise the issue. I have not come here today to do politics,” the chief minister said before leaving Egra on Saturday afternoon.

The BJP took a swipe at Banerjee after she met the affected families.

Samik Bhattacharya, the party’s chief spokesperson in Bengal, said: “These tactics can no longer fool the people of this state. Nobody has any control on the Trinamool Congress. From what she said, we can only assume that more bomb making units are coming up before the elections.”