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Rajasthan factory blaze: Owner, manager among four booked for murder
Additional police superintendent Atul Sahu said that the factory was illegally manufacturing firecrackers and employed labourers without safety measures
The owner, manager, labour contractor, and operator of the factory, where seven labourers were killed in a fire in Rajasthan’s Bhiwadi on Monday, have been booked for murder.
Bhiwadi police superintendent Prashant Kiran said the four were being questioned, and action would be taken accordingly. A First Information Report has been filed against the four under Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Section 103 (murder).
Additional police superintendent Atul Sahu said that the factory was illegally manufacturing firecrackers and employed labourers without providing safety measures. “It was registered as a ready-made garment manufacturing unit under the name of an individual, Rajendra Kumar. Police have recovered several packing boxes containing firecrackers, gunpowder, and other inflammable substances, suggesting that they used to manufacture firecrackers and some small explosives illegally,” said Sahu.
On Monday, at least 16 people were working inside the unit when three explosions took place. A video from a nearby CCTV footage showed loud explosions before the fire broke out.
“A forensic team was called to examine the area immediately. It is yet to be confirmed how those explosions took place. The fire engulfed the area so quickly due to the presence of those inflammable substances that trapped around 11 of the labourers. The gate of the manufacturing unit was probably locked when the explosions took place,” said Sahu.
By the time the police and the fire brigade reached the spot, seven of the labourers had died, while four others were rescued in a critical condition and referred to New Delhi’s All India Institute of Medical Sciences.
Of the seven dead, Mintu Paswan, Sujant Paswan, Ajit Kumar, Ravi Kumar, and Shyam Amresh Paswan were from Bihar’s East Champaran.
The authorities ordered an inspection of all the factories in the area and action against those violating the norms or running illegally.
