INDIA-BLAST Police files case against man for storing explosives which led to blast in central India

Record ID: 1374672

  • Title: INDIA-BLAST Police files case against man for storing explosives which led to blast in central India
  • Date: 13th September 2015
  • Summary: PETLAWAD, MADHYA PRADESH, INDIA (SEPTEMBER 13, 2015) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (ANI - NO ACCESS BBC) EXTERIOR OF SEALED HOUSES BELONGING TO WAREHOUSE OWNER RAJENDRA KHASWA CLOSE OF A SEAL ON A DOOR VARIOUS OF SEALED HOUSES POLICEMEN OUTSIDE A SEALED WAREHOUSE WHERE DETONATORS WERE STORED ILLEGALLY CLOSE OF THE SEAL ON WAREHOUSE VARIOUS OF CLOSE OF SEAL ON WAREHOUSE EXTERIOR OF A POLICE STATION POLICEMEN STANDING (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) SUB-DIVISIONAL OFFICER, ABDUL RASHEED KHAN, SAYING: "He (Khaswa) has been booked under sections 3/4 of the Explosives Act and section 304 of the Indian Penal Code. All of his properties have been sealed, including his house and warehouses. We will be searching all of them today." EXTERIOR OF A COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE INJURED BLAST VICTIMS LYING ON HOSPITAL BEDS DOCTORS EXAMINING INJURED BLAST VICTIMS VARIOUS OF THE INJURED BLAST VICTIMS ON HOSPITAL BEDS (SOUNDBITE) (Hindi) DOCTOR AT COMMUNITY HEALTH CENTRE, URMILA JUAL, SAYING: "Eighty two people died, plus seven unidentified bodies have been sent outside. So, total 89 have died." COLLAPSED BUILDINGS VARIOUS OF DEBRIS POLICE BARRIER AT SITE POLICEMEN AT THE SITE A BULLDOZER VARIOUS OF DEBRIS
  • Embargoed: 1st October 2015 17:41
  • Keywords:
  • Location: India
  • Country: India
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAC57AG3EJWLG5JG4B2FENSPMK9
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS CONVERTED 4:3 MATERIAL
    Indian police said on Sunday they were hunting for the owner of illegally stored explosives which accidentally detonated in the center of a crowded town, killing at least 88 people.
    Rajendra Kaswa has been charged with illegally storing gelatin sticks and urea, a common fertilizer, next to a restaurant and busy junction in the town of Petlawad in central India, a senior police official and the divisional commissioner Sanjay Dubey said.
    Sub-Divisional Officer of Police, Abdul Rasheed Khan, said a FIR (First Information Report) has been filed against Kaswa and police have sealed all of his properties.
    "He has been booked under sections 3/4 of the Explosives Act and section 304 of the Indian Penal Code. All of his properties have been sealed, including his house and warehouses. We will be searching all of them today," said Khan.
    Police initially thought the accident was triggered by an exploding gas cylinder in the restaurant, which then detonated the explosives next door, but officers now believe it originated in the warehouse next to the restaurant where Kaswa stored explosive materials and chemicals.
    Kaswa held a license for the explosives but keeping them so close to a restaurant in a densely populated part of town was illegal, senior police official Seema Alava said.
    At least 88 people were killed in the explosions as the multi-storey restaurant and adjacent buildings collapsed, sending debris hurtling into the streets during the morning rush hour.
    Television footage showed bodies strewn across the ground amid mangled motorbikes and chunks of concrete. Police said they had since removed all the bodies from the scene.
    More than 100 were injured in the blasts.
    On Sunday, a doctor treating the injured at a Community Health Centre, Urmila Jual, said the death toll has increased to 89 and around 150 people were injured.
    "Eighty two people died, plus seven unidentified bodies have been sent outside. So, total 89 have died," said Jual.
    The chief minister of Madhya Pradesh state arrived at the scene on Sunday where his convoy was blocked by angry locals waving black flags, the Times of India reported.
    Local media have said residents previously complained about the location of the explosives but authorities failed to act.
    The state government said a full probe into the explosions would be carried out, while officials from New Delhi have been dispatched to help with the investigation.
  • Copyright Holder: ANI (India)
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