3 killed, 25 hurt as blast rips through cracker factory in Dewas

Tonk Kalan (Dewas): Three workers were killed and at least 25 others injured, eight of them critical, after a blast tore through a firecracker factory in Tonk Kalan area of Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas district on Thursday morning. A magisterial probe was ordered by evening.The explosion occurred around 11.30 am, triggering panic in the area and leaving several workers with severe burn injuries. Eyewitnesses said the impact was so intense that pieces of flesh, hair and debris were flung nearly 20 to 25 feet away, with some remains landing on the highway.Rescue teams and locals were later seen collecting body parts in sacks from the factory premises and surrounding roads.ADGP (Ujjain range) Rakesh Gupta told TOI, “Three men were killed, and 25 injured of which 8 are critical. Five of the critically injured are admitted in Amaltas hospital of Dewas and three in Choithram and MY hospital in Indore. The rest are admitted in district hospital Dewas and MY and Choithram in Indore,” said Gupta.He said that a magisterial probe has been ordered. Prima facie, it seems that the safety protocols were not followed. The accused factory owner has been booked under section 105 of the BNS for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and 110 of the BNS for attempt to commit culpable homicide.The blast also damaged the walls of the factory premises.Chief minister Mohan Yadav expressed grief over the explosion, calling it “heart-rending”, and announced financial assistance of Rs 4 lakh each for the families of the deceased. He also directed officials to ensure free treatment for all injured victims.Yadav, in a social media post, said instructions had been issued to senior officials, including Deputy CM Jagdish Devda, the home secretary and other senior officers, to monitor relief operations, and that orders had been passed for a detailed probe into the incident.Additional chief secretary (home) Sanjay Shukla inspected the site in the afternoon and was briefed by senior police officials. “Special chemical experts have been called in to investigate the blast,” he said.Forensic expert Dr Rashmi Kame, who inspected the factory premises, found multiple divisions where different work was being carried out and collected items in separate packets for examination. Officials said some units were used for chemical filling, others for preparing explosive material, while packaging units — where women worked — formed a separate section.The factory, spread across nearly five bighas, employed around 700 labourers daily, many of them migrant workers from Bihar who stayed on the premises and were paid Rs 15,000 per month in the chemical unit.In one hall, over two dozen mattresses along with food items and utensils were found scattered — workers had just returned from lunch and many had abandoned their meals midway while fleeing.Dewas collector Rituraj Singh invoked the National Security Act (NSA) against factory licence holder Anil Malviya in connection with the blast. “Anil Malviya has been arrested and his firecracker licence has also been suspended. The action was taken following a report submitted by the SP, which cited alleged misuse of the firecracker licence and violations of licence conditions and safety norms,” said an official release.A two-member inquiry team comprising Ujjain additional collector Utendra Singh Gurjar, additional collector, Ujjain, and industrial health and safety (Indore) director Namita Tiwari, has been constituted to investigate the incident.The team will examine six aspects: the possible causes of the fire and explosion, compliance with the Explosives Rules, adherence to the National Building Code 2016, the status of other licences issued at the accident site and across the district, the validity of licences issued to the factory, and the role of other departments in the regulation process.The team has been directed to submit its report within a week.