At least 21 workers, including seven children, were killed and six others were injured after a blast, involving a massive blaze, destroyed a firecracker warehouse — where crackers were allegedly stored and sold illegally — leading to the structure’s collapse, on the outskirts of Deesa town in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district on Tuesday, said police.
The blast at the warehouse, owned by Deepak Traders, took place around 9.30 am.
The Banaskantha police on Tuesday evening booked warehouse owners Khubchand Renumal Mohanani and his son Deepak Khubchand Mohanani on charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, according to the FIR.
Both accused were detained by the Local Crime Branch (LCB) within hours of the incident and were taken for questioning. Till the filing of this report, the accused were not formally arrested, said police.
An FIR into the matter was lodged at Deesa Rural police station at 8:15 pm on April 1, based on a complaint by Deesa Mamlatdar Vipulkumar Kiritkumar Barot. “Warehouse owner Khubchand Renumal Mohanani and his son Deepak Khubchand Mohanani have been booked under BNS Sections 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 110 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), 125(a)(b) (act endangering life or safety of others), 326(g) (mischief by fire or explosive substance), and 45 (abetment). They have also been booked under the provisions of The Explosives Act, 1884 and The Explosive Substances Act, 1908,” said the FIR.
“The two accused persons did not install fire safety equipment in their godown, illegally stockpiled large amounts of explosive firecrackers and in spite of knowing that a large number of casualties could take place, did not provide fire safety to the workers in the godown…” said the FIR. While the Centre announced an ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh each, the state government announced a compensation of Rs 4 lakh each for the kin of the deceased. Both the central and state governments have announced a compensation of Rs 50,000 each for the people injured. The identity of 19 victims have been ascertained even as the DNA samples of other two, presumed dead, are being processed to know about them, said the officials.
The deceased, as per the official list seen by The Indian Express, have been identified as Rakesh Nayak (32), Suresh Amarsinh Nayak (25), Daliben Rakesh Nayak (25), Kiran Rakesh Nayak (5), Radha Gangaram Nayak (10), Vijay Bhagavansinh Nayak (17), Vishnu Satyanarayan Nayak (18), Lakhan Gangaram Nayak (24), Dhanaraj Santosh Nayak (18), Kesharben Gangaram Nayak (40), Sunita Lakhan Nayak (19), Rukama Gangaram Nayak (6), Abhishek Gangaram Nayak (3), Krishna Bhagavansinh Nayak (12), Mehul Shankar Luhar (20), Guddi Bhagavansinh Nayak (30), Babita Santosh Nayak (40), Ajay Bhagavansinh Nayak (16) and Pankaj Thekedar (40).
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The six injured, who have been identified as Nayana Rakesh (3), Bittu Satyanarayan Nayak (14), Rajesh Satyanarayan Nayak (22), Vijay Kajmi (20), Mukesh Chandu Parmar (33), Shilpa Mukesh Parmar (30) are undergoing treatment at public hospitals, with three in Deesa, two in Palanpur and one in Ahmedabad, said the officials. According to the list, the two missing victims, presumed dead, have been identified as Laxmi Anil Nayak (50) and Sanjay Santosh (10).
Police said that the death toll may rise with several body parts of unidentified people having been found in the debris. Banaskantha SP Akshayraj Makwana said, “We have identified 19 deceased persons, and rescued six. We have also found several body parts. Their identification process is underway.”
Firefighters from Deesa, Palanpur Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL) and SDRF personnel carried out the rescue operations for 11 hours, said sources.
Shunning the earlier claims that a boiler blast had led to the blaze, SP Makwana confirmed that the premises was used only for the storage and sale of firecrackers and that it was not a manufacturing unit.
‘Lack of ventilation and fire safety arrangement’
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On March 12, the police had visited the site based on the request of factory owners, seeking to renew their licence required to store firecrackers.
SP Makwana said, “The owner had approached the police seeking renewal of licence for storage and sale of firecrackers that had lapsed on December 31, last year. Our team, including an inspector and a DySP visited the site and conducted a survey of the premises and took videos and photos. However, the review submitted by the police officials to the SDM was not in favour of a renewal. The premises lacked proper ventilation and fire safety arrangement.”
The Indian Express also spoke to P Seeniraj, the Joint Chief Controller of Explosives for Vadodara Circle, who has Gujarat as his jurisdiction. “This firm had not been granted a licence to store firecrackers,” Seeniraj confirmed.
Meanwhile, SP Makwana said, “We will file an FIR and take strict action. Five police teams have already been formed to investigate the matter. Teams have been deployed to Rajasthan, Ahmedabad and Sabarkantha to apprehend the persons responsible for running this firm.”
SIT formed
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Further, based on DGP Vikas Sahay’s instructions, the police also formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) under the chairmanship of a DySP-rank officer and comprising three inspectors and a sub-inspector.The SIT will be headed by DySP CL Solanki.
Condoling the deaths of the workers, most of whom were from Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav wrote on X, “The sad news of untimely death and serious injuries to workers of Madhya Pradesh due to the explosion in a firecracker factory in Banaskantha, Gujarat is extremely heartbreaking. I express my deepest condolences to the bereaved families. The state government is committed to provide all possible help to the injured workers and the families of the deceased.”
“Continuous contact is being maintained with the Gujarat government regarding the accident. I pray to Baba Mahakal for peace of the departed souls, strength to the bereaved families to bear this great loss and quick recovery to the injured,” he said.
A post on X by the PMO said: “Deeply saddened by the loss of lives in the explosion at a firecracker factory in Banaskantha, Gujarat. Condolences to those who lost their loved ones. May the injured recover soon. The local administration is assisting those affected. An ex-gratia of Rs 2 lakh from PMNRF would be given to the next of kin of each deceased. The injured would be given Rs 50,000.”
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Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel wrote on X: “The death of workers due to fire in a firecracker factory in Deesa is heartbreaking. My heartfelt condolences are with the relatives of the deceased in this hour of grief. I am in constant touch with the administration regarding the relief, rescue and treatment work in this accident.”
“I have instructed the administration to ensure that the injured get proper treatment at the earliest. The state government will provide assistance of Rs 4 lakh to the family of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to the injured. I pray that God will grant peace to the souls of the deceased workers and speedy recovery to the injured.”
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