Four more detained in Deesa blast case; purchase of aluminium powder under investigation
The police also revealed that primary analysis of the FSL investigation at the site of the tragedy found traces of two chemicals -- aluminium powder and Yellow Dextrin powder.
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Aluminium powder is highly flammable and is used to create the flash effect by firecrackers while Yellow Dextrin is used as a binding agent.The Banaskantha Police on Wednesday detained four more persons in connection with the Deesa incident in which an explosion in a firecracker warehouse followed by a massive blaze and collapse of the premises led to the deaths of 21 workers, including seven children, on Tuesday. Six others remain under treatment at local hospitals.
The police also revealed that primary analysis of the FSL investigation at the site of the tragedy found traces of two chemicals — aluminium powder and Yellow Dextrin powder. Aluminium powder is highly flammable and is used to create the flash effect by firecrackers while Yellow Dextrin is used as a binding agent.
On Tuesday, father-son duo and owners of Deepak Traders, Khubchand Renumal Mohanani and Deepak Khubchand Mohanani, were booked for culpable homicide not amounting to murder as well as under sections of The Explosives Act of 1884 and The Explosive Substances Act of 1908, and were detained by the Local Crime Branch (LCB) within hours of the incident.
According to Banaskantha Superintendent of Police (SP) Akshayraj Makwana, the four persons detained on Wednesday include a brother of Deepak; an accountant, another person dealing with GST billing of Deepak Traders, and a fourth person who, the police have alleged, was involved in attempting to hide or destroy the mobile phone devices of Khubchand and Deepak.
The police have since recovered the mobile phones, seized them and sent them to the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL).
According to a statement by the Banaskantha Police Wednesday, “A thorough and scientific investigation is being carried out with the help of chemical experts. More than seven different teams from LCB, SOG (special operations group), Parole-Furlough Squad, and local police have been involved in this investigation. The teams are searching for the key accused involved in this crime in different states including Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, and Rajasthan, besides Gujarat.”
It further added, “The matter is being investigated on the basis of the CDR (Call Detail Record) of the accused’s mobile, bank account and purchase order documents.”
‘Aluminium powder freely available’
When asked how the accused were able to purchase aluminium powder, SP Makwana said, “It is very flammable but it is not in the list of explosives or even restricted list of substances. It can be purchased freely. This firm had purchased this aluminium powder from a Mumbai-based company and we are investigating why this substance was purchased.”
Wednesday morning also saw hearses carrying the bodies of the victims, most of them from Madhya Pradesh, back to their home state. According to a police statement: “In this work, the police, showing humaneness, made arrangements to send the bodies of the deceased to their hometowns with full respect and accompanied by a police convoy.”
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