Illegal crackers hidden in empty plot explode in Jalandhar locality; 1 arrested

The impact of the blast, which took place at around 9 pm Sunday, was felt upto a 3 km radius. Residents living nearby reporter cracked walls, windows and doors. Police said the banned crackers were concealed in gunny bags and covered in plastic sheets. They suspect the crackers caught fire when residents were bursting crackers while celebrating Diwali.

Police Commissioner Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said the accused, Gora, had revealed that he had been dealing in crackers for the last 15 years at Partap Bagh locality. The commissioner said Gora had been booked last year as well for stocking crackers at a godown in Waryana.

Bhullar further said that Gora had taken a godown on rent at Ghah Mandi where these crackers were stored. However, after police intensified its campaign against illegal crackers, he along with his friend Vikrant and Jindi stocked it in the vacant plot belonging to Jindi’s relatives. Police are trying to trace Jindi.

Over two dozen houses were damaged by the explosion. Residents whose homes were damaged demanded the government compensate them by selling properties of the accused.  In the house of Gurmukh Singh, located adjacent to the blast site, doors, windows, ACs and cars were damaged. “For half an hour, we had all gone numb,” he said.