Delhi: Man dies in blast while trying to make crackers at home

Police said victim was mixing sulphur and potassium to make firecrackers at home, but it exploded causing severe injuries to him

A 21-year-old man died due to a blast after he allegedly tried to mix sulphur with potassium to make firecrackers at home in northeast Delhi’s Welcome on Friday afternoon, the Delhi Police said on Saturday.

Police said the victim was trying to make firecrackers at his house in north-east Delhi’s Welcome. (HT Photo for representation purpose only)

Deputy commissioner of police (northeast), Joy Tirkey, identified the victim as Himanshu Kumar, a resident of Welcome. He ran different stalls depending on the season, occasionally catering to the festival around that time.

Giving details about the case, police said they received a call about the incident at 2pm on Friday on the third floor of a house. “The call was about a blast and the caller said a person had been injured in the house,” the DCP said.

When police reached the spot, they were informed that Kumar had sustained injuries in a blast from unknown materials. He was rushed to Jag Pravesh Chandra Hospital where he died during treatment around 8.30pm on Friday, police added.

“The spot was visited by the crime and forensics team. The probable reason for the blast seems that Himanshu was mixing sulphur and potassium to make firecrackers at home, but it exploded causing severe injuries to him due to which he subsequently died,” the DCP added.

Police registered a case of causing death due to negligence and negligent conduct at Welcome police station.

Earlier, on November 4, two men were killed in a similar blast that occurred after potassium was mixed with sulphur which they had stored to prepare some basic firecrackers at a house in outer Delhi’s Narela. The victims, 20-year-old Gaurav Kumar, and his distant relative Sahil, a man in his 20s, were in the business of setting up a stall to sell Diwali-related products.

While their families denied that they were involved in making firecrackers, police said that the evidence on the spot suggested otherwise.

There is a blanket ban on the sale, manufacture, storage and use of all types of firecrackers in the Capital. However, this has not deterred a black market from taking root across Delhi. HT reported on Friday how spot checks over the past week found violations by the dozen in a range of markets — Kamla Nagar, Sadar Bazar, Rajouri Garden, Ramesh Nagar, and near Jama Masjid.