Foul Play Ruled Out in Sunday Morning’s Blast in the Trendy Park Street District of Kolkata

Kolkata — 12th August 2007

Tension was high Sunday morning when an explosion rocked a popular area of Park Street in Kolkata, killing one and seriously injuring four.

Concern that terrorism or sabotage might have been involved in the blast, which occurred on the eve of the August 14th celebration of the 60th anniversary of Pakistani and Indian Independence, the top echelon of the Kolkata police and experts from central and state forensic laboratories rushed to the scene of the explosion.

"It’s fortunate this happened so early in the morning. This area is usually jammed with pedestrians and cars," said Md. Khalil Ullah, leader of the Scientology Volunteer Ministers of West Bengal who were at the site, assisting police with crowd control throughout the afternoon. "If this blast had happened even a few hours later it would have been a complete disaster."

Foul play has now been ruled out as a factor in the explosion. Police commissioner Prasun Mukherjee announced that no explosives were found inside the restaurant, and police and forensic scientists have concluded the blast was caused by a malfunctioning of the high-compression air conditioning system at the McDonald’s restaurant that opened in the area five months ago.

^{Police and volunteers tended to the injured and secured the area, following Sunday morning’s blast that killed one and injured four at the new McDonald’s restaurant in Kolkata, India.}