Bareilly:

Police on Thursday arrested the main accused in the illegal firecracker factory blast case, a day after six persons were killed in the incident at Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh.

Senior Superintendent of Police Anurag Arya said the explosion occurred at Rehman Shah’s home, destroying several houses in the area.

Police arrested alleged mastermind Nasir Shah on Thursday and sent him to jail, Arya added.

The SSP said it has been found in the preliminary investigation that Shah, who has a license to only sell firecrackers, was operating an “illegal” firecracker factory at the residence of Rehman Shah, his father-in-law, where the incident occurred.

The bodies of two kids, aged four and five, were pulled from the rubble of a firecracker factory which was destroyed in an explosion here while one of the injured Sitara (32) succumbed to her injuries at hospital, taking the death count to six, police said on Thursday.

The blast in the manufacturing unit located in the district’s Sirauli area occurred on Wednesday and three people were initially declared dead. The bodies of the children were found under the debris late in the night during a search operation.

After the incident, Senior Superintendent of Police Anurag Arya suspended four police personnel, removed the local station house officer and ordered a probe against the circle officer concerned.

The explosion in the factory also caused damage to some adjoining buildings.

District Magistrate Ravindra Kumar said the administration and police were investigating every angle and all five injured were undergoing treatment.

“One person is still missing. It is feared that he/she too might be trapped under the debris,” he added.

Along with the local rescue teams, the State Disaster Response Force is also engaged in the rescue work.

Those killed have been identified as Tabassum (44), Rukhsana (28), Hasan (4) and Shahjahan (5). One woman is yet to be identified.

Police said they were verifying the licence of the unit.

The four policemen suspended are Sub-Inspectors Deshraj Singh and Nahar Singh and Constables Ajay and Surendra.

Sirauli SHO Ravi Kumar has been removed and sent to Police Lines, and a probe ordered against Circle Officer Gaurav Singh, they said.

A senior police officer said factory operator Nasir allegedly had a licence for another place but the house where the incident occurred belonged to his in-laws.

“The explosion also caused damage to at least three adjoining buildings. Nasir is said to have a licence, but its details are being looked into,” IG Rakesh Singh said.

Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath offered his condolences to the family of the dead and directed officials to ensure proper treatment of the wounded.

“We have recovered remains of locally made crackers from the spot. Prima facie, it appears that the blast occurred because of them,” Arya said, ruling out any deliberate act.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Kaushambi:

At least seven people died and seven others were injured in an explosion at a firecracker factory in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district on Sunday, police said. The blast took place around 12 noon at Maheva village in the Kokhraj police station area and was heard several kilometres from the factory, they said.

Soon after information was received about the explosion, 10 fire tenders and ambulances rushed to the spot, officials said.

Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) of Prayagraj Zone Bhanu Bhaskar said, “The cracker factory belonged to one Shahid (35). He was also killed in the blast along with six others.” As per information shared by the office of UP relief commissioner, four other deceased were identified as Shiv Narayan, Shivkant, Ashok Kumar, and Jaichandra.

Efforts are being made to identify the two other deceased, police said.

According to the ADGP, around 18 people were working at the factory when the blast took place.

“Prima facie it appears that the blast occurred following a fire in the chemicals kept there. Ten fire tenders were sent to the spot to douse the fire,” said the ADGP.

As per locals, the blast was so powerful that it dismembered limbs of the deceased and the injured were thrown several metres away from the site.

The cracker factory was legal and had all necessary clearance from the local administration, the officials said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)