Cracker deaths

Contai, Nov. 9: Four persons, including two women and a one-year-old girl, were killed in an explosion in a fireworks factory in East Midnapore’s Contai tonight.

Ram Bharati Kamila, 40, and daughter Champa, 18, were making crackers on the ground floor when the explosion happened. Kamila’s daughter-in-law Purnima, 20, and granddaughter Payel, 1, who were sleeping on the first floor, died when the wooden floor collapsed under the impact of the explosion.

Leader killed

Barasat: A 55-year-old Trinamul leader was strangled and hacked to death by a gang and his body dumped in a market in Bongaon on Thursday night.

Job clash

Kharagpur: Two Trinamul trade union members were injured in a clash between two factions over recruitment of casual workers in a Tata Metaliks factory in Kharagpur on Friday.