A 19-year-old youth was killed and his six family members, including two women, were injured in a blast at Dharmabad village, falling in the Dera Baba Nanak sub-division of Gurdaspur district, on Tuesday night.
The explosion allegedly took place while young members of the family were preparing firecrackers on their own at home, said police.
The deceased was identified as Manpreet Singh, who succumbed to injuries at a hospital in Amritsar on Wednesday. His brother Lovepreet Singh is also in a critical condition. The injured included two sons-in-law of the family.
All the injured persons were admitted to different hospitals in Amritsar. Among them, one lost his eyesight, another both arms and the third suffered serious jaw injuries.
The accident took place around 10 pm. According to villagers, it was a high-intensity blast that smashed window panes of adjacent houses in the neighbourhood.
Gurinder Singh, a villager, said, “The family’s children got their hands on some flammable elements, said to be potassium and sulphur, from somewhere. The irresponsible seller sold the substances in huge quantities. I have learnt that the children began to prepare crackers from the material, triggering an explosion.”
Jatinderpal Singh, former sarpanch of the village, said, “I visited the injured at the hospitals. Negligence is from both sides, the buyers and the seller. The senior members of the family had gone to bed when the children went to purchase the chemicals. The administration’s failure in checking the sale of such materials led to the tragedy. Strong action should be taken against the seller.”
{{/usCountry}}Jatinderpal Singh, former sarpanch of the village, said, “I visited the injured at the hospitals. Negligence is from both sides, the buyers and the seller. The senior members of the family had gone to bed when the children went to purchase the chemicals. The administration’s failure in checking the sale of such materials led to the tragedy. Strong action should be taken against the seller.”
{{/usCountry}}After being informed, police reached the village on Wednesday morning and launched an investigation with forensic experts.
Confirming one casualty in the incident, Dera Baba Nanak station house officer (SHO) Ashok Kumar said, “The matter is under investigation. An FIR is being registered under the relevant sections. The accused will be nominated in the FIR after a thorough probe.”