14 dead in Bhagalpur blast; SHO suspended

Police suspect that the occupants of the two-storied house were illegally manufacturing firecrackers.

PATNA: At least 14 people were killed and 10 others suffered serious injuries in an explosion at a house in Bihar’s Bhagalpur, officials said on Friday. The deceased included two minors, aged 2 and 3.

Bhagalpur, Mar 04 (ANI): Police personnel inspect the site after a massive explosion ripped through a three-storey building near the Kajwali Chak area under Tatarpur Police station on Thursday night, in Bhagalpur on Friday. (ANI Photo) (Aftab Alam Siddiqui)

Police suspect that the occupants of the two-storied house were illegally manufacturing firecrackers.

The blast occurred at around 11.35pm on Thursday on the ground floor of the house, owned by Mohammad Azad Malik in the Kajwalichak area barely 100 metres from Tatarpur police station limits. A total of five people were present in the house at the time of the incident.

A police team led by Bhagalpur range deputy inspector general Sujit Kumar was rushed to the spot along with a fire fighting squad.

“The seriously injured were rushed to the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College and Hospital. Most of them out of danger,” district magistrate Subrat Kumar Sen said.

The exact cause for the blast is yet to be ascertained, Sen said, adding that the administration’s focus is on conducting rescue and relief operations.

“Medical teams are being instructed to take care of those admitted with severe burns,” he said.

Speaking to reporters, Bihar director general of police Sanjiv Kumar Singhal said that the deceased were long-term tenants of Malik’s house.

The deceased were identified as Lilawati Devi, 55, her daughters-in law Pinki Devi, 30, and Aarti Kumari, 24, Pinki’s son Priyansu Kumar, 14, and Aarti’s son Ayansh Kumar, 2, said police. Others killed in the incident were identified as Mahendra, 60, (Lilawati’s neighbour), his wife Sheela Devi, 55, their son, Sunil Mandal, 28, Nandani Devi (daughter-in-law ), 25, and her son Moon Kumar, 3.

One of the houses was owned by Mahendra Mandal, who was also involved in the illegal firecracker manufacturing, said the DGP. The second house was owned by Raj Kumar Shah.

Mahendra Mandal’s son Navin Mandal alias Atishbaaj (32)was also injured in the incident.

While the explosion took place on the ground floor, locals said its intensity was magnified by the crackers stored in the house. While Malik’shouse collapsed, two other houses in the vicinity were also damaged, officials said.

The bodies of Shah, 45, and his son Rahul Kumar, 24, were also recovered from the debris, said Singhal. Seven members of their family were also injured in the blast, said the Bihar Police chief.

Two other deceased were identified as Ganesh Prasad Singh, 60, and Urmila Devi, 68. Ganesh’s house was partially damaged in the incident.

Ganesh’s daughter Pinki Prasad said, “My father and grandmother died in the blast at Lilawati’s house when the debris fell on her house.”

While Lilawati and her family ran the illegal cracker manufacturing unit out of the house, Malik operated an iron grill manufacturing business from the same premises, the DGP said.

Wrappers, plastic sheets, explosive materials like ammonium nitrate and sulphur were recovered from the spot, the DGP said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar expressed condolences over the loss of lives.

In a tweet, PM Modi said, “The news of the loss of life due to blast in Bhagalpur, Bihar is painful. I wish the injured a speedy recovery. The situation related to the incident was also discussed with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ji. The administration is engaged in relief and rescue operations, and all possible assistance is being provided to the victims.”

The CM has also directed chief secretary and director general of police to probe the matter.

Range DIG Sujit Kumar said that preliminary investigation suggested with the upcoming Shab-e-Baraat and wedding season, large quantities of explosives were stored in the unit which accidentally exploded.

Bhagalpur senior superintendent of police Babu Ram said a special investigation team has been constituted to investigate the case, while Tatarpur station house officer Sanjay Kumar Sudhanu has been suspended on the charges of dereliction of duty.

The police are investigating how the unit was being operated in the densely populated area, the SSP said. “Forensic experts have been pressed into service to ascertain the reasons and type of blast,” he said.

An FIR against the factory owner has been filed under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and under sections 3 and 4 of the Prevention of Explosive Substances Act, said WHO.

According to local residents, this is not the first time that a blast occurred at Navin’s house. Similar incidents were reported from the spot in 2002, 2008 and 2018.

In the 2002 incident, four people were killed on the spot and two others sustained serious injuries.

“In a similar incident on October 24, 2002, Mahendra’s Suresh Mandal and three others were killed,” said Singhal, adding that a charge sheet was filed in the case against four who died in the incident.