Owner arrested in fireworks unit blast case

Virudhunagar: Virudhunagar district police have arrested the owner of the fireworks unit in Kattanarpatti, where a blast on April 19, claimed the lives of 25 workers.A special team of police arrested Eswari, 35, who was hiding in her relative's house in Coimbatore. She was subsequently brought to Virudhunagar district and was remanded in judicial custody on Sunday night.Eswari's husband, Muthumanickam, surrendered before the Virudhunagar district court on April 21. Subsequently, police also arrested Muthukrishnan of Sivakasi, who had taken the unit on sublease illegally.At around 3.20pm on April 19, a major blast was reported in Vanaja Fireworks, which claimed the lives of 25 workers and left six others injured. There was a second blast at around 7.20 in the evening, when the debris was being cleared using an earthmover inside the fireworks unit. In this incident, the earthmover operator and a few fire and rescue services personnel sustained injuries as flying debris hit them.Official sources said that the unit was functioning with several violations. The workers were engaged for work on Sunday without obtaining prior permission from the authorities. More workers were engaged, and excess quantities of chemicals were used illegally. The unit was also subleased illegally.