Karnataka CID to probe Attibele fire incident; ‘negligence’ caused 14 deaths, says CM Siddaramaiah

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who visited the spot, said three people – identified as Ramaswamy, Naveen and Anil – were arrested in connection with the incident.

Firecrackers worth several lakhs were stored in the godown for the upcoming Deepavali festival.

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Karnataka Government Sunday instituted a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) probe into the fire incident at a firecracker godown at Attibele in Bengaluru on Saturday that left 14 dead and three injured. The government also announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh for the families of the victims and medical expenses for those injured.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who visited the spot, said three people – identified as Ramaswamy, Naveen and Anil – were arrested in connection with the incident. Ramaswamy had two licences for selling crackers but did not have a permit to store them. “Prima facie, there is negligence on the part of the licence holder,” Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Responding to media queries, he said that one of Ramaswamy’s sales licences was valid till January 2026, while the other was valid till October 2028. These were licences “to possess and sell at a shop a quantity not exceeding 1,000 kg. The licence was for selling only. I think he did not have a licence for storage,” he said.

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Though authorities are yet to determine what exactly triggered the fire, it is speculated that the blaze was caused by an electric wire or the UPS unit at the facility. The fire occurred between 3.15 pm and 3.30 pm when workers were unloading crackers at the unit. Noting that fire extinguishers were not present at the storage unit, Siddaramaiah said that the accused failed to take adequate safety measures.

Calling it a “very big tragedy”, the chief minister said the fire took place in a congested area. All the deceased hailed from Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri districts of Tamil Nadu. “Most of them are students who were working part-time to earn money during vacation,” he said.

Except a manager, the facility did not have any permanent employees. “When I enquired with the Deputy Commissioner, he said that the Fire and Emergency Services and the police had issued a no-objection certificate to the unit. Whoever issued the no-objection certificate should have verified whether the unit met the requirements specified under the Explosives Act. The DC too should have visited the unit before giving permission,” Siddaramaiah said.

The case will be handed over to the CID as these issues need to be looked into. “We will investigate the case and act against those at fault,” he added.

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