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“Suddenly there was a blast. Everyone was scrambling. I ran and somehow got out of the building, yet I could feel the ground shake beneath me. It was a very strong blast,” Ruksar Bano, a worker at a firecracker factory in Madhya Pradesh said.
She is one of the over 200 people injured at the firecracker factory in Madhya Pradesh’s Harda district, where a fire broke out on Tuesday, 6 February.
The explosion killed 11 people so far, including three women and two teenagers.
The Madhya Pradesh police has arrested three local men – Rajesh Agrawal, Somesh Agrawal and Rafiq – in connection with the case.
A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the three accused under sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to culpable homicide), 34 (common intention) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), and section 3 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908.
According to the FIR, a copy of which was accessed by The Quint, the incident happened due to "illegal possession of excessive quantity of explosives" by the accused.
What Happened That Day?
The Civil Lines police station in Harda district received a phone call at 11:25 am on Tuesday that a fire had broken out at Rajesh Fireworks, which is owned by two of the accused. While Rajesh and Somesh, both brothers, used to run the factory, Rafiq used to supervise the making of firecrackers.
The explosion led to debris flying in the surrounding area, which damaged houses, vehicles and even injured cattle and stray animals in the vicinity, the FIR stated.
“My father was walking outside the factory when he got hit on the head by the debris. My wife got injured too. The wall of my sister’s house, which is in the vicinity, collapsed,” Jagdish, a resident of Harda, told reporters.
Harda SP Sanjay Kanchan told reporters that once they were alerted about the explosion, they rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operations. “We apprehended Rajesh and Somesh from Sarangpur and the duo are in police custody,” he added.
“Both Rajesh and Somesh were illegally possessing excessive quantity of explosives without providing legitimate means of safety for the workers, knowing it could endanger their lives. Hence, they have been found guilty under the said sections.”FIR
'Locals Had Filed A Complaint Against Factory Earlier Too'
Meanwhile, Ismail Khan, who is the up-sarpanch of a village in Harda district, told reporters that locals had objected to the building of the factory at the said location. “Locals had filed a complaint earlier, but the owners of the factory went ahead with it,” he alleged.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav inquired about the condition of the injured at the local hospital in Harda.
Expressing his condolences, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too posted on X (formerly Twitter), "Distressed by the loss of lives due to the mishap at a cracker factory in Harda, Madhya Pradesh. Condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones. May those injured recover at the earliest. The local administration is assisting all those affected."
He added that a compensation of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the kin of deceased, while the injured will be given Rs 50,000.
With inputs from Mohammad Tahir Khan from Madhya Pradesh.
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