Aligarh district administration orders probe after blast in toy factory kills 4

Four people including one of the owners of a toy pistol making factory that operated out of a house in Aligarh were killed and a dozen others were injured after a gas cylinder exploded Tuesday evening, completely destroying the building, police said.

Work was in full swing with Diwali round the corner.

“The incident occurred in Mohalla Khatikaan under Delhi Gate police station of Aligarh on Tuesday evening. Initially it was believed that the explosion was caused by a gas cylinder but the actual reason is being investigated by the city magistrate,” said superintendent of police (SP) Abhishek.

“The root cause was basically a cylinder which burst. About 10 people were trapped in the debris of houses where this factory was running. The city magistrate has been asked to conduct an enquiry and submit his report within 15 days to determine the exact reason and suggest measures so that no such incident happens in future,” said Chandra Bhushan Singh, district magistrate of Aligarh .

The blast occurred in a house owned by one Surendra Bheelware whose nephews Manoj and Sanjay ran the factory of plastic toys. Houses nearby were also damaged in the blast. Manoj (38) was among those killed in the blast.

The other three were identified as Vicky alias Vishal (32), Abhishek (26) and Pankaj. The injured were admitted to JN Medical College of Aligarh.