4 dead as blast rips through illegal cracker unit in Kalyani
Times of India | 8 February 2025
Kalyani: Four women died and one was critically injured in a massive explosion that tore through an illegal firecracker-manufacturing unit in a densely populated area in Kalyani's Rathtala, less than 60km from Kolkata, early Friday afternoon.
The building's and the unit's owner, Sadhan Biswas (also known as Khokon), was injured in the blast and tried to flee, but was later arrested. Police said he had a valid licence to trade in firecrackers, but no clearance to run a manufacturing unit.
A multi-agency probe has been ordered. Police said they had lodged an FIR against Biswas under multiple non-bailable penal sections, including the Explosives Act. The place has been cordoned off, and a forensic team is expected to reach early Saturday.
Local residents said the factory had been in operation for over a decade. They claimed they had lodged multiple complaints about the risks posed by the illegal factory in such a packed area, but no steps were taken.
The accident occurred at 1.30pm, while workers were manufacturing fireworks, claimed residents. Police sources said the explosion was so powerful that it completely destroyed the single-storey structure and damaged several adjacent buildings. After a deafening explosion, columns of thick black smoke were seen billowing from the building. Four fire engines were used to fight the flames but it took several hours to control the blaze because stored explosives kept going off one after the other.
The dead women were identified as Durga Saha, Basanti Chowdhury, Anjali Biswas, and Ruma Sonar, all residents of Rathtala. Police and fire brigade officers brought out their charred bodies. The injured woman was Ujjwala Bhuiya, who was taken to Jawaharlal Nehru Memorial (JNM) Hospital. Hospital superintendent Atanu Biswas said Bhuiya (38) was in a critical condition.
Bengal govt has announced compensation of Rs 2 lakh for each of the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for those of the injured. Nadia district magistrate S Arun Prasad has ordered a safety audit of all fireworks-manufacturing units in the district.
Ranaghat SP Sunny Raj said: "We have arrested the owner and have started a probe." Kalyani municipality chairperson Nilimesh Roy Chowdhury confirmed the unit had a trade licence. "But, to run a firecracker unit, one also needs clearances from the fire department and police. It is still not known whether it had any. It is too early to speak on which rules, if any, were bent. We have also ordered a probe."
Residents, however, said Biswas, apart from running the illegal manufacturing unit, also sold illegal firecrackers under the guise of legal fireworks. The manufacturing unit was in a cramped room, they claimed.
After a spate of illegal firecracker unit explosions in 2024, which claimed over 15 lives in Bengal, chief minister Mamata Banerjee had announced a policy shift to set up green cracker clusters. She had also previously commented on the need to do business without hurting people.
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