Bengal fire-cracker unit blast: Death toll rises to 12

Kolkata, May 20 (SocialNews.XYZ) With two more people succumbing, the death toll in the illegal fire-cracker factory explosion in West Bengal's East Midnapore district rose to 12 on Saturday.

The two people who died since late Friday night have been identified as Rabindra Matiti and Pinki Maiti.

While nine deaths were reported on the day of the explosion (Tuesday), the prime accused and the owner of the illegal factory Krishnapada Bag, who were also among the injured, died at a private hospital at Odisha's Cuttack on Friday morning, pushing the toll to ten.

Now, with reports of two other injured and under-treatment persons at state-run SSKM Medical College & Hospital, the death figure in the tragedy has further increased to 12.

Sleuths of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the state police are currently investigating the matter. Krishnapada Bag's son Prithvijit Bag and nephew Biswajit Bag have already been taken into custody by the officials.

On Thursday, a division bench of the Calcutta High Court directed CID to continue with the probe, but after including sections of the Explosives Act in the FIR.

In the initial FIR filed by police, only sections under the Indian Penal Code and West Bengal Fire Service Act were included for which the state police attracted severe criticism.

Although the initial police investigation indicated that the explosion was probably from the firecracker manufacturing raw material stocked at the illegal factory, the opposition parties have claimed that the impact of the explosion proves that not firecrackers but crude bombs were being manufactured there.

Source: IANS