'Kanpur blast solved with arrest of two'

LUCKNOW: With the arrest of two people, police claim to have solved the blast in the industrial city of Kanpur this week that was accidentally caused by firecrackers.

Atiq Mohammad, who used to illegally manufacture firecrackers, was caught on Wednesday, hours after a general goods shop owner, Kamal Sahu, was arrested in the case. The explosion on Tuesday took place outside a liquor shop in Colonelganj locality in Kanpur around 7 p.m. and left five people injured.

Sahu's shop is located near the blast site and during investigations it was found that he used to sell firecrackers without a licence, police said.

"Atiq Mohammad used to supply firecrackers, including bombs, to Sahu and on Tuesday he was on his way to the shop when he stopped near the liquor store," Kanpur Superintendent of Police HR sharma said.

Sharma said the explosion was accidental and not a terror blast.

The bicycle used by Atiq belonged to a man called Aiyaz and he is still on the run, Sharma added. The duo used to manufacture crackers and bombs illegally in their house in the nearby Bajariya locality and supply them to the city, police said.

"We have also recovered a huge cache of firecrackers after a tip-off and hope to arrest Aiyaz soon," Sharma said.