MP firecracker factory blast: NSA invoked against manager, 4 accused booked for culpable homicide

MP firecracker factory blast: NSA invoked against manager, 4 accused booked for culpable homicide

Dewas/Indore, Authorities on Friday invoked the stringent National Security Act against the manager of the firecracker factory in Madhya Pradesh's Dewas district, where a blast claimed five lives, and filed culpable homicide charges against four accused, including the owner.

MP firecracker factory blast: NSA invoked against manager, 4 accused booked for culpable homicide

An explosion ripped through a firecracker factory in the Tonk Kalan area on Thursday, leading to a fire that killed five labourers and injured 23 others. Anil Malviya, the licensed owner of the factory, has been arrested under the stringent provisions of the National Security Act .

Dewas Collector Rituraj Singh on Friday invoked the NSA, whose provisions make getting bail tough, against factory manager Ajaas Khan, and the district magistrate has ordered that both Khan and Malviya be lodged in Ujjain Central Jail for three months under the stringent Act, an official said.

He said that a case has been registered on the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and other relevant provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Explosives Act against Malviya, Khan, another factory manager, Mahesh and contractor Bhupendra alias Chhotu.

According to the first information report , firecrackers were being manufactured and stored at the factory, where more than the permitted quantities of explosive materials were kept, and the facility also lacked proper safety arrangements for workers.

Meanwhile, the district administration formed a three-member committee, comprising officials from the electricity, industrial and safety departments, along with the state pollution control board, to probe the blast at the factory.

The Central government's Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation and the forensic science laboratory are also investigating the incident, officials said.

Of the 23 patients injured in the blaze, three were admitted in critical condition at the government-run Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital in Indore.

MYH superintendent Dr Ashok Yadav said, "All three have suffered 80 to 90 per cent burn injuries. Specialist doctors are continuously monitoring their condition."

Chief Minister Mohan Yadav had earlier expressed grief over the incident and announced assistance of ₹4 lakh each to the kin of the deceased and free treatment for the injured.

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