Toll in Bengal firecracker factory explosion rises to 11

Kolkata, May 20

The toll in a blast at an illegal firecracker factory in West Bengals Purba Medinipur district rose to 11 as one more person, who was seriously injured in the explosion, succumbed to his injuries, a senior official said on Saturday.

Rabindranath Maity, who had 80 per cent burn injuries and was undergoing treatment at the state-run SSKM Hospital here, died on Friday evening, he said.

“He had third-degree burn injuries. His condition deteriorated constantly since he was brought here and he died last evening,” the official said.

Another injured in the explosion, Pinki Maity, is undergoing treatment at the hospital and her condition is also “very critical”, he said.

Prime accused and owner of the illegal firecracker manufacturing unit Kalipada, alias Bhanu Bagh, who was arrested by the West Bengal CID on Thursday, had succumbed to his injuries at a private nursing home in Odisha’s Cuttack, where he had fled soon after the blast on May 16.

Nine people were killed on Tuesday soon after the explosion took place.

The West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department has been conducting a probe into the explosion in Egra area and has so far arrested at least nine people, including the prime accused and two others from Odisha.

Meanwhile, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Friday issued a notice to the West Bengal government, seeking a detailed report on the explosion within four weeks.