3 killed, 6 injured after blast in firecracker godown in Belthangady taluk, owner arrested

MANGALURU: At least three people died and several others were injured in a blast at a firecracker godown at Kukkedi village in Belthangady of Dakshina Kannada on Sunday evening.

The victims have been identified as Varghese (62, Swamy (60) from Kerala and Chethan (24) from Arasikere in Hassan district. The injured are Dinesh and Kiran from Hassan, Kumar from Arasikere, Kallesh from Chikkamarahalli, Prem from Kerala, and Keshav.

Dakshina Kannada Police Superintendent C B Rishyanth said, “Three died and several others were injured in the explosion which occurred around 5.30 pm on Sunday. The deceased have been identified as Varghese, Swamy and Chethan. We will investigate the reason for the blast”.

The blast occurred in the Solid Fireworks godown belonging to one Syed Bashir inside an areca and banana plantation. A large number of people gathered after the explosion and expressed their anger against the authorities.

The SP said Syed Bashir was running the firecracker unit on 50 cents of land. “His licence was issued in 2011-12 and renewed in 2-19 and is valid till March 2024. As per preliminary information, they were manufacturing firecrackers as per demand. We don’t know the reason for the blast. A forensics teams and the Department of Explosives will join the probe”, he said.

The FSL team conducted investigation through the night and found body parts scattered around in a 100-mt radius. Some houses around the godown also sustained damage. Meanwhile the police have arrested Syed Bashir who was absconding ever since the blast, and are questioning him at an undisclosed location.

“Locals used to buy firecrackers from Syed Bashir and the workers were engaged in making firecrackers based on an order from Mysuru. We have registered a case for lack of safety measures and have received a complaint from the neighbour. The families of the deceased have been informed”, SP Ryshyanth said.