Bengal Guv seeks probe into firework unit explosion

Kolkata, Jan 4 (PTI) West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar Saturday demanded a probe into the explosion at a fireworks unit in the state that caused four deaths and said the administration should be held accountable as there are allegations that crude bombs were being manufactured there.

Four persons, including two women, were killed on the spot and one was seriously injured in an explosion at a fireworks manufacturing unit at Naihati in North 24 Parganas district on Friday, police said.

"Several deaths in blasts at the factory at Masjidpara, Naihati has pained and shocked me. Allegations that crude bombs were being made in illegal factory warrants intense expert probe. Accountability of all in the administration needs to be fixed promptly," the governor, who has often been at loggerheads with the TMC government in the state, said in a statement.

Police has already launched an investigation into the case.

Reacting to Dhankhar's statement, the TMC leadership urged him not to make such unwarranted statements and exceed his brief.

"The governor should stop making such unarranted statements, " TMC secretary general Partha Chatterjee said.

TMC leader of the party in Lok Sabha, Sudip Bandopadhyay said he would take up the role played by the governor during the budget session of Parliament.

"We will seek a reply from the Centre on the role played by the governor," Bandopadhyay said.

The state BJP leadership echoed the views of the governor and demanded a "proper investigation" into the incident.

"We demand a proper investigation into the incident to bring out the truth. There have been previous instances where explosion took place in illegal bomb making factories," BJP state general secretary Sayantan Basu said hinting at the Khagragarh blast of October 2014 for which a number of Jamaat-ul Mujahideen Bangladesh activists were arrested.