Naihati blast: CID's bomb disposal squad, state STF chief visit site

Kolkata: A team from the state Criminal Investigation Department's (CID) Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) visited the blast spot at Naihati in North 24-Parganas on Friday afternoon. Inspector General (IG) of state Special Task Force (STF) Ajay Kumar Nand also visited the spot and took a stock of the situation.

According to sources, CID and police are trying to find out why the blast had such an unusually high impact. In order to find out the same, a requisition has been sent to the state Forensic Science Laboratory.

Forensic experts are expected to visit and collect samples from the blast site on Saturday, to find out what kind of explosive was there. They were earlier scheduled to visit the spot on Friday.

Meanwhile, local residents alleged that some sort of high intensity explosive was there, due to which fireball and mushroom cloud were formed after the huge explosion.

Sources informed that due to the impact of the blast, a portion of the spot where the blast took place had caved in, measuring about 10 feet. Also, a kind of dust particle was seen around the spot, which seemed like some sort of chemical.

However, the BDDS team and police are waiting for the forensic team to examine the samples and report the findings back to them.

Residents of the houses, which were reportedly damaged due to the explosion, alleged that the disposal work was carried out on Thursday afternoon, without having a fire tender at the spot. Earlier on every occasion, police had come to defuse crackers and other explosives along with fire tenders.

Apart from police, local civil administration also visited the damaged houses on Friday. Block Development Officer (BDO) of Barrackpore Block I took stock of the extent of damage along with his officials, as instructed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. He also interacted with the families to know what kind of help they need at the moment.

Chairman of Naihati Municipality Ashok Chatterjee also visited the damaged houses and arranged for tarpaulins and dry food. Though the administration has assured people not to get panicked, locals are still in a state of shock.

Apart from Naihati, civil administration in Hooghly has also started a survey to ascertain the extent of damages.

On Thursday afternoon, a massive explosion took place at the bank of river Ganges at Naihati in North 24-Parganas, while police were defusing huge quantities of seized crackers.

Due to the intensity of the explosion, cracks developed and window panes were shattered in several houses of Naihati, as well as in Chinsurah located on the opposite bank of the river.

The Chief Minister, while delivering her speech at Yatra Utsav in Barasat, came to know about the incident and announced compensation for the families whose houses have been damaged due to the explosion.