West Bengal: Main accused person in East Medinipur factory explosion dies
Krishnapada Bag, who had sustained 70% burn injuries, had fled to Cuttack in Odisha after the blast, where the West Bengal police had arrested him.
The main accused person in an explosion at an illegal firecracker factory in West Bengal’s East Medinipur district, Krishnapada Bag alias Bhanu Bag, succumbed to his injuries on Friday, reported The Indian Express.
The blast, which took place on Tuesday, killed at least nine persons and injured two, at the Egra block of East Medinipur district. The impact of the blast had caused the factory to collapse. The firecracker factory was allegedly being operated from Bag’s home in a village on the West Bengal-Odisha border.
The West Bengal Police had filed a first information report against Krishnapada Bag, his son Biswajit Bag and nephew Indrajit Bag. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also ordered an inquiry by the Criminal Investigation Department into the incident.
Krishnapada Bag, who had sustained 70% burn injuries, had fled to Cuttack in Odisha and got himself admitted to a hospital, reported The Hindu. The West Bengal police arrested him there later.
On Wednesday, the police also arrested Biswajit Bag and Indrajit Bag. The two were remanded to eight days of police custody by a court in East Medinipur on Thursday, reported The Hindu. Mousam Chakraborty, the inspector in charge of the Egra police station was also shunted out on Thursday and replaced by Swapan Goswami, ANI reported.
Following the blast, the Bharatiya Janata Party had demanded that the National Investigation Agency should look into the case. Leader of Opposition Suvendu Adhikari claimed an explosion of such a high magnitude suggested that the firecracker factory was a front to make crude bombs.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal Police on Thursday said that a fake video is being shared on social media platforms as the blast in Khadikul village of Egra block. The police clarified that the visuals are of the Pooram festival in Kerala and asked people to refrain from circulating the fake claim.