Four killed in illegal fireworks industry explosion in Bengal
In October 2014, an explosion in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan town, about 100 km from Kolkata, exposed a network of Bangladeshi jihadi elements running an arms and explosives factory in the state.
At least four persons, including two women, were killed on Friday in an explosion in an illegal fireworks industry at Naihati in North 24 Parganas district of south Bengal.
“Till 3:30 pm we came to know that four persons were killed and one was seriously injured. We are yet to identify the dead and the injured. We are searching for the factory owner,” said Dhrubajyoti De, deputy commissioner (headquarter) of Barrackpore.
Such was the intensity of the blast that tremors were felt in houses located at least two to three kilometres from the blast spot. Bharatiya Janata Party MP Arjun Singh demanded a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) saying that the factory could have terror links.
“I visited the spot after the blast. There are several such illegal factories in the area. But they actually manufacture crude bombs under the garb of firecrackers. It is very likely that these units have Khagragarh-like terror links and needs to be probed by the NIA,” said Singh.
In October 2014, an explosion in a house at Khagragarh in Burdwan town, about 100 km from Kolkata, exposed a network of Bangladeshi jihadi elements running an arms and explosives factory in the state.
