WB blast: Supply chain kingpin arrested, sent to police custody till Sep 8

The alleged supply chain kingpin in the Duttapukur blast case was arrested and sent to police custody till September 8 after being produced before a court, police said on Saturday.

The accused, who had fled to Chennai after the blast in an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit in Duttapukur area in North 24 Parganas district on August 27, was nabbed following his return to Kolkata on Thursday, a senior police officer said.

He was produced before a court in Barasat on Friday and remanded to police custody till September 8.

"The man had fled to Chennai after the incident. Based on prior information, a team of the West Bengal Police Special Task Force arrested him as soon as he stepped out of the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport on Thursday," the officer said.

He is suspected to have been involved in procuring finished fireworks from the illegal units in Duttapukur, including the one in which the blast occurred, and supplying those to clients, the officer said.

The accused had also removed a large quantity of explosives from the area after the blast, in which nine people, including a minor, were killed, he said.

However, the trucks laden with the explosives were seized and his whereabouts were known from two persons arrested after the incident, the officer said.

"We will question him to find out more information about the supply chain and the clients," he said.

So far, more than 10 people have been arrested in connection with the blast, and two police officers have been suspended for "failing to carry out their duties".