Krishnagar, Sept. 22: Supriya Mondal, 28, and her two-year-old daughter, Dona, were burnt to death in a fire that apparently broke out after a deafening blast around 2 am in their bedroom at Khalsi village, 75 km from Calcutta, in Nadia?s Shantipur area.

Supriya?s 32-year-old husband, Sujit, is fighting for life at the Shaktinagar state general hospital. Police described the blast and the fire as ?mysterious? and was not convinced by Sujit?s uncle?s suggestion of a short circuit.

Additional police superintendent Biswarup Ghosh said the police have sealed the room where the incident took place and forensic experts have been called in.

?If it was a short circuit, there should have been the smell of burnt cable, which was missing. Moreover, the bed in which they were sleeping hardly bore any burn marks. We cannot immediately ascertain the cause of the fire,? he said.

Ghosh added that a window was found open and part of the wall was cracked. ?Nothing could be said before the forensic tests and post-mortem reports,? he added.

Sujit?s uncle Joydeb, who was sleeping in the next room, told the police he was woken up by the blast. Joydeb said he rushed to Sujit?s room and found it was on fire and smoke was billowing out.

?The room was full of smoke and flame and I could hardly see anything. I shouted for help and, with the help of some neighbours, dragged them out,? he said.

Neighbours rushed the family to hospital, where Supriya and Dona were declared brought dead.

In another incident, two children --- Rafique Sheikh, 5, and Chinta Khatoon, 4 --- were seriously injured after two bombs, which they picked up thinking they were cricket balls, exploded in their hands at Hatra village in Chapra police station, 130 km from Calcutta. The explosion severely damaged their hands and face and they were admitted to Shaktinagar State General Hospital.