Three die, nine injured in cracker factory blast

Three persons, including two women and a child, were charred to death in a major fire that broke out in a cracker factory at Ridhau village of the Kharkhoda area of the district today.

The cracker factory was allegedly being run illegally for a long time in the middle of a residential area in the village.

While one of the deceased has been identified as 60-year-old Santra of Ridhau village, the two others are yet to be identified.

As many as nine persons sustained serious burn injuries including the daughter of the factory owner and have been referred to the PGIMS, Rohtak, for further treatment.

Rajesh, a resident of the village, told The Tribune that the incident occurred at around 8:45 am. The villagers were shocked after a huge blast occurred in the factory. Around 10 persons were working in the factory at the time of the blast.

As the villagers ran towards the spot to help the injured, another blast occurred. Apprehending another blast, the villagers came out of the factory, he said.

Ved Prakash Bansal, a village resident, was running the factory in his house.

A villager, on the condition of anonymity, said some people had raised objections over the cracker factory and the police had also come there for inspection. But due to the owner’s political contacts, no action had been initiated, the villager alleged.

ACP Jeet Singh, along with a police team, reached the spot for an investigation. He said three completely burnt bodies had been recovered from the spot. Apart from it, nine persons had sustained serious burn injuries, he said.

The factory owner has been rounded up, the ACP added. Some suspicious material has been recovered and the FSL team has been called to inspect the spot, he said.

As per the primary information, most of the labourers working in the factory were from outside the village, while one deceased woman was from the same village, ACP Jeet Singh said. A probe was underway, he said.

Inspector Ankit Kumar, SHO, Kharkhoda, said a case had been registered against the factory owner under various sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and he had been arrested.

Prima facie, it came to the fore that the labourers had come from Uttar Pradesh two days ago. A team has been sent to the PGIMS in Rohtak to identify the two deceased as well as the injured admitted there, because the factory owner said he did not know their names, the SHO said.