E-Paper
Gunpowder dumped in pit explodes in Behta; 3rd blast in 72 hours
A village faced a third explosion linked to mishandled fireworks disposal, following two fatal incidents. Locals claim police negligence led to the blast.
Alarmed over two similar instances only days ago that killed two people and a cow, Behta was shaken by another blast due to explosives used in fireworks on Tuesday night. This was the third such incident reported within 72 hours in the village under Gudamba police station limits near here.
No injuries were reported since the explosion this time took place in a pit filled with the gunpowder recovered from raids on Monday and Tuesday, officials said. Apart from the two deaths, five people were injured in the first incident.
Confirming the incident, Ghaziur ACP Anindaya Vikram Singh said: “Gunpowder meant for the crackers recovered from the area was dumped in a 20-foot deep pit by a bomb squad team and covered. The pit was dug on the outskirts of the village. There were no injuries.”
Meanwhile, locals blamed mishandling during the disposal for Tuesday’s blast, and alleged that standard safety norms were ignored.
They accused police of negligence and claimed that the pit was not filled with water after the gunpowder’s disposal, due to which the material ignited.
One of them said people were so scared that they could not sleep all night. “The explosion was so strong that it caused cracks in a water tank built under the Jal Jeevan Mission,” he added.
The latest explosion occurred a little far from where police and a bomb disposal squad had destroyed nearly 30 quintals of explosives recovered during raids on Monday and Tuesday.
The raids were part of a crackdown following the earlier blasts. Police teams had unearthed an enormous stockpile of country-made firecrackers and raw materials from multiple godowns and fields belonging to different individuals.
From the godown of one Ali Ahmed alias Tinu, police seized 15 sacks of “sutli bombs” weighing around 620 kilograms. They also found about 30 kg of loose gunpowder from the premises.
From the premises of one Ghappalu, police recovered six sacks of crackers and about 240 kg of loose gunpowder.
Another haul from the godown of Sheru alias Bashir saw the recovery of 320 kg of gunpowder kept in sacks, and 800 kg of other materials.
From Naseem’s, police found ten sacks of crackers and 80 kg of gunpowder stored in sacks. Another 50 kg of gunpowder was found in large sealed drums.
From Ali Akbar’s, the seizure included 18 sacks of fireworks weighing nearly 700 kg, 50 kg of loose gunpowder stored in a drum and another 250 kg wrapped in five sacks.
