Child among 2 killed in firework explosions in city; 2 held

A five-year-old boy was among two people killed in firework explosions in separate incidents in the city, police said on Monday.

Adi Das of Haridevpur area in the southern part of the city and 40-year-old Deep Kumar Koley of Kasba area in the eastern part of the metropolis died in explosions of "tubri" (clay flowerpot crackers) during Diwali celebrations on Sunday night, a senior police officer said.

"Both the deceased were hit on the neck by fragments of the fireworks and were declared brought dead upon being taken to different hospitals," he said.

The officer said both of them had suffered immense blood loss due to the impact of the explosions.

The bodies have been sent for post-mortem.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee spoke with two brothers of Koley, a source close to her said.

Banerjee also instructed city Commissioner of Police Anuj Sharma to find out from where the flowerpot crackers were procured, the source said.

"The chief minister has sought a detailed report on the two deaths," he said.

Later in the evening, police arrested two persons who manufactured and sold the 'tubri' which exploded resulting in the death of the child at Haridevpur.

"The seller of the turbi is actually a fish trader. He was selling fireworks on the occasion of Kali Puja and Diwali. We have also arrested the manufacturer of the fireworks. Tubri samples have been seized and sent for tests to find out whether or not the materials used had any problem. We are also questioning the two," a police officer said.

Meanwhile, a police source said there could be negligence on the part of the parents of the child as local people claimed that the child was not lighting the firework and was only passing by with one of his relatives when the explosion took place.

Koley, on the other hand, was himself lighting the firework, the source said.