SIT to probe Ahmedabad blast & fire that killed 9, cracker unit owners held

Addressing a press conference, Gahlaut said Mehul was operating the firecracker unit and his mother Ramila was handling its administration.

Fire accident at a firecracker manufacturing plot near Mehmoodpura in Ramol area of Ahmedabad on Saturday. (Express Photo by Bhupendra Rana)

“This (unit) was ordered to shut on March 4, 2026. And it was completely shut. It was being checked from time to time. However, for the past 20-25 days, taking advantage of police’s preoccupation in Rathyatra, they had brought labourers from different parts of Dahod district and were making (firecrackers). …they got orders of firecrackers from some places in connection with the upcoming immersion ritual of Lord Ganesha (Ganesh Visarjan). And these people were making (the firecrackers) from there. And the blast happened,” Gahlaut said.

“It has also come to notice that in 2014, when Ramilaben was operating a firework unit at the same place (from the year 2013), one person had died in a fire incident. She was arrested and her licence was cancelled. Later, a licence was taken in the name of her son, Mehul Dodiya, in 2020…After that its deadline had expired…No further extension was granted. And still, they were making (fireworks) illegally.”

The Police Commissioner said that all three accused have been booked under stringent provisions of the law.