East Midnapore (West Bengal): The West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department has detained three suspects in connection with a powerful blast at an illegal firecracker factory in Egra police station area in which nine people were killed and several others injured, sources said on Thursday. It is learnt that the CID has arrested the three accused-Krishnapada Bagh alias Bhanu Bagh, his son and nephew.
Sources said that the accused Bhanu Bagh is in a hospital in injured condition in Cuttack and cannot be moved now. The West Bengal Police have requested Odisha police to keep a watch on the accused. On Tuesday, at least nine people were killed and seven others critically injured after a powerful blast struck a firecracker factory in East Midnapore's Egra area.
Also read: Bengal: Nine killed in massive explosion at firecracker factory; BJP seeks NIA probe
While CID is investigating the case, the opposition BJP in West Bengal has demanded that the case be handed over to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for investigation. The West Bengal BJP has also written to union Home Minister Amit Shah over the matter. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has announced that 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.
The state government will bear the expenses of their treatment, the CM said. Banerjee said that 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, she added. It is learnt that the owner of the illegal firecracker unit, was briefly arrested in Oct. last year for running the factory, has fled to Odisha after the explosion.
