‘I recognised his leg’: Farmer finds missing son among Kaushambi blast remains

Saryu said the family feared the force of the explosion may have torn Sunil’s body apart. “We asked the authorities about my son, but no one could tell us what had happened to him. We went to the mortuary and saw a severed leg; I recognised it as my son’s… because he was born with a disability in his left leg… The authorities also told us that no one had claimed the remains,” Saryu said.

Superintendent of Police Satya Narain Prajapat said, “We will conduct a DNA test to establish the identity.”

Sunil Kumar, 34, worked at a boondi-making factory that was damaged in the explosion. (Special Arrangement)

Sunil, a resident of Paksai village, is survived by his wife Rekha Devi and four children. He had been working at the factory for the past year.

House of main accused bulldozed

The death toll in the blast rose to 14 on Wednesday after 17-year-old Urvashi, who was injured in the explosion, died during treatment at SRN Hospital in Prayagraj, Superintendent of Police Satya Narain Prajapat said.

Meanwhile, authorities on Wednesday demolished the three-storey house of Naushad, the alleged main accused in the illegal cracker factory blast, and raided a warehouse owned by his wife, Kahkashan Bano, in Muratganj market.

Six sacks of firecrackers were seized from two rooms of the warehouse, officials said.

A joint team of the Prayagraj Development Authority and Kaushambi Police demolished Naushad’s house, which officials said had been constructed without the required building map approval and other permissions.

The demolition began at 6 pm on Tuesday and continued for 11 hours before the house was brought down by 5 am on Wednesday. “Strict action will continue against those violating the rules,” District Magistrate Amit Pal said.

Naushad was arrested on Tuesday. His sister-in-law Shabana and niece Saina were also arrested. Police are searching for three others – Shakeel, Adil and Kahkashan Begum – and have announced a reward of Rs 25,000 each for information leading to their arrest.

The six accused have been booked for culpable homicide and negligent conduct involving explosives of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and charges under the Explosives Act.

Police are also identifying properties allegedly acquired through illegal income by the accused and collecting evidence to invoke the National Security Act, sources said.

Nine policemen have also been suspended for alleged negligence in allowing the illegal factory to operate. Those suspended include Inspector Shivcharan Ram, former Pipri station house officer; sub-inspectors Vikas Singh, Vinay Singh, Ajit Kumar Singh, Abhishek Gupta, Manish Pal and Amit Dwivedi; head constable Jitendra Kumar; and constable Krishna Kumar.

The blast damaged several houses within around 100 metres of the factory, with three properties collapsing completely.

(With PTI inputs)