Bengal blast: Congress MP asks Rajnath for NIA probe

A Congress MP from West Bengal on Wednesday accused the Mamata Banerjee administration of 'misleading' the people about the cracker factory blast in West Midnapore district that claimed 12 lives, and said he has written to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, seeking a probe by the NIA into the matter.

At least 12 people including nine minors were killed and four others injured when the explosion ripped through the cracker factory in Pingla in the district on May 6.

"According to local reports, at least 20 people were killed but the state administration wants to pass it like an accident in a cracker factory. Much like in the Burdwan blast, the administration here too is misleading the people," said Pradip Bhattacharya, a former Congress state unit president.

"The NIA probe in the Burdwan blast revealed the involvement of the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB). It is only the NIA that can find out if there is a terror angle in the Pingla blast as well," said the Rajya Sabha member.

"So I have written to the home minister along with photographic evidence asking for an NIA probe. I have also urged the union home secretary to treat the matter urgently and initiate a probe by the NIA," Bhattacharya said.

While Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) have claimed that the premise in which the explosion occurred was a firecracker factory, the opposition - Left Front, Congress and the BJP - have been alleging the involvement of the ruling Trinamool Congress, claiming the factory was used for manufacturing bombs.

A public interest litigation has also been filed before the Calcutta High Court seeking a probe by the NIA.