HARDA (Madhya Pradesh): A total of five people have been arrested in connection with the firecracker factory fire incident in Harda, where 13 people lost their lives and 173 sustained injuries, police said.
Three arrests were initially made on Wednesday, with an additional two made on Saturday, a senior police officer said.
The accused have been identified as Raju Agarwal, Somesh Agarwal, Rafiq Khan, Ashish Tamkhane and Aman Tamkhane, he said.
The accused have been arrested under Section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) and Section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
“The identity of two of the victims is not ascertained yet, their bodies have been sent for DNA,” Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Rajeshwari Mahobia said.
A massive fire broke out in a firecracker factory in Harda’s Bairagarh area on Tuesday morning, causing extensive damage and casualties. Due to the massive explosion, the entire area was engulfed in black smoke, with window panes of houses and shops located in the vicinity getting shattered.
Dozens of houses located nearby were gutted in the incident. Locals recounted that it felt as if an earthquake had hit Harda. Several vehicles were also caught fire in the explosions.
Inspector General of Police (IG), Narmadapuram Zone, Irshad wali, told ANI, “There are three accused in the matter against whom the case has been registered under IPC sections 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide), and 34 (common intention) and relevant sections of Explosive act. All of them have been arrested and they were produced before the court.” (ANI)