Six killed as blast tears through Malda plastic recycling factory

SUJAPUR: Six persons, including two minors, were killed and four others seriously injured when an explosion ripped apart a plastic recycling factory at Sujapur in Malda on Thursday. One of the victims is the co-owner of the factory.
It is prima facie suspected that a 45HP plastic processing machine, run on electricity and used to compress and cut plastics, overheated and exploded.
The West Bengal government announced Rs 2 lakh compensation for the next of kin of those killed and Rs 50,000 for the injured. State urban development minister Firhad Hakim air-dashed to the spot to meet the grieving families.
The incident triggered a face-off between the governor and the Bengal home department after Jagdeep Dhankhar suggested, immediately after the explosion, that it was time for chief minister Mamata Banerjee to “proactively contain illegal bomb making and ensure professional non-partisan investigations”.
The government responded that the incident “is related to manufacturing process issues and has got nothing to do with illegal bomb-making, as suggested non-responsibly by some quarters”.
Malda police superintendent Aloke Rajoria, who was at the spot, ruled out explosives. “Prima facie, the machine exploded due to mechanical fault. Forensic experts are probing the cause of explosion, whichwas huge; machine fragments were found several metres away,” he said. The SP added that four persons were killed on the spot and two on way to hospital.
A deafening explosion was heard in crowded Sujapur around 11.30am, completely damaging the factory of one Abrul Sk in Kaliachak police station limits. Locals rushed in on seeing people writhing in pain. The victims were sent to Malda Medical College and Hospital.
While police did not officially confirm identities of the dead, locals said they were Md Mostafa (26), Sariful Haque (29), Abdul Rahman (17), Ajijul Rahman (13) and Rajib Khan (28). Among the injured in hospital were three women — Pramila Mandal, Julekha Bibi and Juli Bewa; the two others were Abu Sayed and Musa Sk.
Locals claimed that at the time of explosion, around 20 people were working.
Bengal chief secretary Alapan Bandopadhyay said the state administration was in constant touch with the Malda district magistrate and SP. “The blast took place when work was going on on a plastic processing machine. On the CM’s instruction, a high-level meeting has taken place,” he said.
BJP MP Khagen Murmu, however, demanded an NIA probe. “In July, a similar explosion at English Bazaar in a Toto had killed a person and damaged his vehicle. We are yet to know the cause. This is another case of hushing up the truth. We want a probe by NIA,” he said.
Reacting to it, Hakim said: “NIA is an important agency that protects the country. This is a plastic factory blast. BJP should not misuse central agencies for political reasons.” Prima facie, he added, the cause was machine fault.
At Kolkata airport, Hakim said the state government would stand by the bereaved families. State minister Chandrima Bhattacharya said: “The blast was at a plastic factory. Police are probing.”
Locals claimed plastic recycling was a big business in the region and finished products were sold even in northeastern states. Some had no licence, said the district administration, and hence did not follow adequate safety measures and even employed minors. Such faults, if any, would be probed, police said.
(Written with inputs from Debashis Konar in Kolkata)