A man who was injured in a blast at an eatery in Shimla over a month ago succumbed to his injuries on Monday, police said.
The deceased, Ramesh, was an employee of the restaurant and had sustained 45% burn injuries in the blast, Shimla superintendent of police (SP) Sanjeev Kumar Gandhi told PTI.
The blast occurred on July 18 at the Himachali Rasoi restaurant adjacent to the fire brigade office on Mall Road, police said.
Aveneesh, owner of Plaza Hotel, located a few metres from the blast site who was crossing the restaurant when the blast occurred had died on the spot, they said.
Four to six other shops were damaged, while 13 persons were injured, of whom two were critical and hospitalised, they added.
While one of the hospitalised persons has been discharged, another died during treatment on Monday, taking the death toll in the incident to two, the Shimla SP said.
According to the experts of the State Forensic Science Laboratory Junga, a detailed examination of evidence collected from the blast site and adjacent places had concluded that a gaseous explosion of LPG cylinders in the restaurant led to the blast, the SP added.
Two commercial cylinders recovered from the spot were found leaking and one had minimal gas left. When LPG mixes up with air or vapour, it becomes deadly and causes an aerosol blast, the SP said.
{{/usCountry}}Two commercial cylinders recovered from the spot were found leaking and one had minimal gas left. When LPG mixes up with air or vapour, it becomes deadly and causes an aerosol blast, the SP said.
{{/usCountry}}The eatery was under exclusive and conscious possession of the owner and his workers for more than 36 hours before the blast as maintenance work was under progress, he said.
Scrutiny of the CCTV footage showed no third person had any access to the premises of the ‘Himachal Rasoi’, he added.
A case of endangering life, causing hurt and causing death by negligence under Sections 336, 337, and 304 A of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the owner, the police said.