Owner of Naihati firecracker factory arrested and remanded to police custody .

Kolkata, Jan 04(HS): The owner of the firecracker manufacturing plant which was completely destroyed in a massive explosion yesterday claiming at least five lives and injuring six people, was arrested at Amdanga in the same district today along with one of his accomplices. Informing this Police said here this afternoon that the factory owner Nur Mohammad who fled immediately after the massive explosion in his unlicensed firecracker manufacturing unit in the residential area of this district industrial township, about 40 km from Kolkata, was nabbed from a house where he was hiding since yesterday evening.

Later he was taken to the district court at Barasat where the judge remanded him to police custody for a week for further investigation. The impact of the explosion in that factory was so massive that it had not only completely destroyed and razed to the ground the entire single-storied building but also severely damaged a number of other buildings in a radius of about one km area.

While all the five employees present at the factory at the time of explosion including two women, were killed on the spot, as many as six other local residents, including a woman, were severely injured and admitted to a nearby hospital with burn and other injuries, the police said and lodged a murder case in the local police station against the factory owner.

Stating that a near similar explosion also took place in the same factory about a year ago in which four employees were also killed and several others injured, the police informed that in spite of a ban since then, the factory was opened a few months ago and started producing and selling firecrackers to different areas as before without caring the protest of the local people.

Meanwhile, local BJP MP Arjun Singh has alleged that under the pretext of firecrackers, powerful bombs were manufactured in the factory to arm the local goons of the Trinamool Congress. Demanding a thorough probe into his allegations he also demanded immediate arrest of the local MLA and the Municipal Councillor alleging their direct involvement in the mess.

Under his leadership, a protest march with the local people was also organized in Naihati town demanding immediate and strong action against all such illegal firecracker units in the area as none of them had any safety precaution to prevent such accidents.