Three persons including two women were crushed to death and five others injured when a portion of brick kiln collapsed on them at Rajibpur under Chapra police station limits in Nadia at around 9 a.m. on Friday.

Police officials said the dead have been identified as Kalpana Ghosh (55) of Rajibpur, Sunita Kashyap (18) of Jharkhand and Raghu Majhi (56) of Sikra, Chapra. Kalpana died on spot while Sunita succumbed to her injuries at Bangaljhi hospital. Raghu Majhi died in Saktinagar district hospital in Krishnagar.

All the injured persons have been taken to Saktinagar district hospital where condition of two labourers are stated to be critical. According to local residents, a group of labourers entered into the brick kiln chamber to arrange the clay blocks for baking into bricks.

Thousands of clay blocks were arranged in several rows and columns inside the kiln and they were all ready for baking. During the re-arrangement, one of the clay-block walls suddenly collapsed on them leading to the mishap.

A few labourers were ble to come out from inside the chamber of the kiln, but a total of eight labourers were trapped under the huge clay-block wall. “Hearing the incident, we rushed to the spot and tried to rescue the trapped labourers.

Later, police reached the spot and joined in rescue operation,” Manoj Sheikh, a local resident said. Tension gripped the locality soon after the incident with somethe local residents alleging the brick kiln owner, Asha Mondol, runs the kiln illegally in connivance with police and local Trinamul Congress leaders.

Most of the labourers come from outside the state and the owner does not bear any ‘letter of concern’ from the district administration. When asked, Jeber Ali Sheikh, the Trinamul Congress Chapra panchayat samity sabhapati said, “I don’t know whether the kiln is unauthorized.

Police will investigate the matter and they will check the papers.” The Chapra officer-incharge Partha Pratim Roy,however, said, “The kiln is authorized and the owner has all required papers to run the kiln”. But, when asked, Mr Avijit Bhattacharya, Additional District Magistrate (LR) said, “The owner has no letter of concern so it is an unauthorized brick kiln.

I have asked the concerned block land and land reforms officer to submit a report to us on the matter”. Mr Bhattacharya also said, “The owner had earlier applied for the letter of concern, but his application was rejected.”

Local residents alleged the owner set up an unholy nexus with the police and local Trinamul Congress leaders to run the brick kiln. It is also alleged the earth used to run the kiln is procured from agricultural field and a mafia racket has set up a connivance with the local police. This is one of the reasons why police is silent when complaints are lodged against the illegal running of brick kilns in Chapra area.