34 people arrested over Bengal firecracker warehouse blast

Kolkata, May 22 Thirty-four people have been arrested in connection with an explosion at an illegal firecracker warehouse in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, claiming the lives of three people.

The arrested persons will be presented at a lower court in Kolkata on Monday.

Sunday night's explosion at the Maheshtala warehouse came six days after a blast also at an illegal firecracker factory at Egra, East Midnapore district on May 16 killed 12 people.

The illegal warehouse at Maheshtala was at the ground floor of a private residence and was in operation for quite some time, locals have alleged.

They also claimed that despite being aware of the warehouse's existence, the local administration had taken no action.

Meanwhile, a political slugfest has surfaced over the explosion, with the Leader of the Opposition Suvendu Adhikari describing the current situation in West Bengal with that in Ukraine.

"Russia began their invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. I think if one calculates & compares the number of explosions that have taken place on Ukrainian soil until now, the number would be fewer than the explosions that took place in West Bengal during this timeframe," Adhikari said in a tweet.