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By Sujay Ghosh: West Bengal Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari on Wenesday approached the Calcutta High Court demanding a probe by National Investigation Agency (NIA) into the blast incident at a firecracker factory in Egra in East Midnapore district.
Based on this plea, a division bench of Chief Justice TS Shivagnam allowed the case to be filed Lawyer Sreejeev Chakraborty on behalf of Suvendur informed the court on Wednesday that at least 12-15 people died in the blast.
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In his application, Suvendu also asserted that a proper investigation is needed in the matter.
Meanwhile, police have said that nine people died in the blast. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has ordered a CID investigation to find out how such an incident happened.
“The illegal firecracker unit was functioning at a house in a village near the West Bengal-Odisha border. The firecrackers manufactured there used to be sent to Odisha. Local labourers were working there,” Mamata Banerjee said.
Following Suvendu Adhikari’s demand, Mamata Banerjee told reporters that she did not have any objection to an NIA probe in the incident.
Meanwhile, the owner of the factory, Krishnapada Bag, reportedly a former Trinamool Congress panchayat member, continues to be on the run. The police are trying to track him from his mobile tower location. Two people have been arrested in the matter so far.
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The impact of the explosion was so massive that the factory which was being run from a residential building collapsed. Villagers said that the site looked like a “war zone” with body parts and debris strewn all around, including in a nearby pond.
The next of kin of the deceased will get a compensation of Rs 2.5 lakh each and the injured will get Rs 1 lakh, while the state government will bear the expenses of their treatment.
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