Kolkata, Nov 10 (PTI) A person was killed in a cylinder blast while filling gas balloons in West Bengal's Birbhum district on Sunday, police said.
The victim, identified as Bipadtaran Bagdi, had gone to the residence of a civic volunteer, Durgaprasad Bhattacharya, at Binse village near Sainthia to fill balloons where the explosion took place, police added.
The blast severely damaged the house and left Bagdi's body badly mutilated.
Soon after, angry villagers attacked and ransacked Bhattacharya’s house, blaming him for the incident. They also assaulted the civic volunteer, demanding his immediate arrest, police said.
Police launched an investigation but have not made any arrests yet, as they continue to probe the role of Bhattacharya, who allegedly started the gas balloon filling business and had called Bagdi for the task.
"We have not made any arrests yet as the investigation is in the initial stage. We are looking into the role of the civic volunteer," a police officer told PTI over the phone.
Trinamool Congress block president Saber Ali Khan expressed condolences, assuring the deceased’s family that justice would be sought.
"This is a very sad incident. We are talking to the family members and trying to pacify them. The culprit must be punished," he said.