The owner of the alleged illegal firecracker factory in Uttar Pradesh’s Kaushambi district, where a powerful explosion killed 11 people, including eight children, on Monday, was arrested after a police encounter early on Tuesday even as seven police personnel were suspended for their alleged negligence in preventing the illegal functioning of the unit where no fresh injured person or body was recovered despite nearly nine hours of rescue efforts by SDRF and NDRF personnel, officials said. Later, two other family members of the cracker factory owner were also arrested, they added.
Chail circle officer Shivank Singh said police received information that Naushad was in Kaushambi’s Saiyad Sarawan area and subsequently launched a search operation. Five injured people had been admitted to the hospital following the blast. The condition of another patient on ventilator support remains critical, while the remaining three are stable. Meanwhile, remains of another body were recovered from the debris at the blast site. An elderly man claimed that the remains were those of his son Sunil. Police sent the recovered remains to the post-mortem house for examination and identification. A police team intercepted him around 4am when he was allegedly trying to flee. Naushad allegedly opened fire at the team when he was surrounded, following which the police team retaliated and a bullet hit him in the leg. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The explosion triggered a fire and a series of blasts of stored firecrackers. Its impact was reportedly heard nearly two kilometres away. Five of around a dozen people injured in the blast are undergoing treatment at different hospitals in Prayagraj in serious condition. Police are now investigating Naushad’s movements after the blast and identifying people who allegedly helped him hide or flee. He is likely to be questioned about the operation of the factory and storage of explosive material there.
Meanwhile, Kaushambi police have also announced a reward of ₹ 25,000 each for the arrest of the absconding wife, son and brother of firecracker factory owner Naushad who ran the illegal unit in Chilla Shahbazi village, they added. Police said Naushad had been absconding since the blast at the factory in Manauri market area under Pipri police station limits along the Prayagraj-Kaushambi border around noon on August 31.
An illegal country-made pistol and cartridges were recovered from his possession, he said.
The death toll in Monday’s blast rose to 13 on Tuesday after a 50-year-old victim died during treatment at SRN Hospital, officials said. Rajesh Kumar, who was on ventilator support, breathed his last at around 1 pm despite intensive treatment and life-saving measures by doctors, the hospital administration said.
