In an unfortunate incident on Tuesday morning, one person died and four others were injured after a gunny bag full of crackers exploded at Old Delhi's Pattewali lane. The impact of the blast was felt for about 500 metres. The window panes of houses and shops on the second floor of the building shattered.
With the national capital on high alert owing to the festive season, sleuths from the Special Cell, Forensics Science Laboratory (FSL), Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) and the bomb squad reached the spot to take stock of the situation. However, they have ruled out any terror angle.
"Plastic shells which are used in firecrackers have been found at the spot. No crater has been recovered from the spot, indicating that it was not a high intensity blast. Explosive substance used in the shells will be examined," said SBK Singh, Special Commissioner of Police (Law and Order, North).
In the available CCTV footage, Motalip Mirza, the deceased in the blast, can be seen carrying two gunny bags on his head while smoking a beedi. After taking a few steps, he keeps the bags on the floor. Within minutes, thick smoke engulfs the area and people can be seen running for their lives. An official statement from the Delhi Police said the blast took place at 10.40 am.
Mirza, a resident of Murshidabad in West Bengal, had been working as a labourer in Delhi for about 15-20 years. He worked for Mukhtaar Ahmed, who owned a cracker shop at Hawas Khana. The police revealed that Ahmed owned three other licensed cracker shops on Qutab road. Mirza was responsible for delivering the crackers.
"The blast seems to have resulted from pressure in the cracker bags. He had collected the bags from Gali Zakaria Mohalla Fatak Hawas Khana, Lahori Gate which is occupied on rent. Other bags containing crackers have been found at the address as well," the statement said.
The injured have been identified as Bhupendra Gupta, Mahesh, Hawa Singh and Murari. Pawan Gupta, who works at Saraswati Agro India, said the reverberation of the blast felt like an earthquake. "I heard only one loud noise, and then window panes broke as well. Bhupendra had glass pieces stuck on his face, and the salesman was injured too. The police took time to reach the spot," said Pawan.
Locals allege that since it is a one-way lane, the movement of heavy vehicles is not monitored. With Diwali approaching, crackers are carried by people in large quantities every day without scrutiny.
"A case against Ahmed under sections 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 427 (mischief causing damage to the amount of fifty rupees), 336 (endangering life or personal safety of others), 338 (causing grievous hurt by act endangering life) and section 3 of the Explosives Substances Act has been registered at Lahori Gate police station. He is currently absconding," said DCP (North) Madhur Verma.
Meanwhile, the Delhi Government on Tuesday formed 11 teams—headed by SDMs—to crack down on illegally imported crackers during Diwali. According to senior officials, while the teams have been directed to conduct surprise raids and take action against sellers and buyers of illegal crackers, the SDMs have also been directed to enforce Supreme Court directions to ban bursting of crackers after 10 pm."
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