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Ragpicker killed in explosion in garbage bin in Hyderabad
The deceased was identified as R Susheelamma (40), a resident of Telangana’s Mahabubnagar district, who earned her livelihood by collecting plastic waste from the garbage, police added.
A woman ragpicker was killed in an explosion at a garbage bin in the Anandnagar area near Mailardevpally, Hyderabad on Sunday morning, police said.
The deceased was identified as R Susheelamma (40), a resident of Telangana’s Mahabubnagar district, who earned her livelihood by collecting plastic waste from the garbage, police added.
“Her husband Rangamuni, who was also involved in picking up plastic waste, was lucky to escape from the mishap as he was a few metres away from the accident spot,” Mylardevpally inspector of police K Narasimha told HT.
According to police, the incident happened at around 9 am, when Sushelamma was segregating the trash in the garbage bin to collect plastic waste.
“A plastic tin containing unknown chemical exploded, causing serious injuries to her. Her left hand was severed due to the blast, and she died on the spot,” Narasimha said.
The loud explosion triggered panic among the locals, who ran away from the spot, fearing it was a bomb explosion, police said.
Within minutes, the police rushed to the spot along with the Clues Team (a team of policemen specialised in collecting vital clues from the crime scene), and a bomb detection squad. A fire tender along with personnel of fire services was also summoned.
“Preliminary investigations revealed that it was not a bomb explosion, but a plastic container with some chemical caught fire due to friction and exploded,” the police inspector said.
He further said Mylardevpally is an industrial area with a large number of small industrial units. “But there are no chemical manufacturing units in the area, and somebody from outside might have dumped these plastic cans. We have sent the chemical to the lab for investigation,” Narasimha said.
The police are making inquiries with the workers of local industrial units to find out the source of the explosive chemical. “Further investigation is on,” the inspector said.
As a precautionary measure, the police have intensified patrolling in the localities around Anandnagar.
