Five days after a deadly explosion in Petlawad killed at least 89 persons, the police arrested Foolchand and Narendra, elder brothers of main accused Rajendra Kaswa. The police continue to maintain that they had no evidence to suggest that the 52-year-old main accused died in the explosion that occurred when the shutter of his fertiliser shop, where he had illegally stored explosives, was opened. “We believe he is alive and are looking for him because there is no direct evidence about his death,’’ additional SP Seema Alawa, who is the head of the SIT formed to probe the case, told The Indian Express. [related-post] Alawa said only three bodies kept in Indore’s M Y Hospital have remained unidentified. She said the police will collect DNA samples of Rajendra’s family members to establish if he was among the dead. The brothers, who had fled town after the explosion, were detained before Wednesday but were formally placed under arrest on Thursday and produced before a court in Petlawad. They have been remanded in police custody till Monday. The police have already taken into custody Dharmendra Rathod, a magazine depot owner, on charges of supplying explosives to Rajendra, who had only a shot firer’s certificate.
