Hapur: Police personnel inspect after at least eight workers died in a boiler explosion in a chemical factory
Highlight
- The operator of the unit, Waseem, had fled after the blast.
- He had burn marks on his hand and stitches on his head.
- Police said he received first aid after the incident and left
Both the owner and the operator of the factory were arrested on Sunday in Hapur, where 13 people were killed in an explosion, police said. The operator of the unit, Waseem, had fled after the blast. A senior police officer said that his hands were burnt and he also got stitches on his head.
“He was arrested from Hapur-Meerut bypass on Sunday afternoon,” Superintendent of Police (SP) Deepak Bhukar said.
“We are providing him with medical treatment,” he said.
“Police have also arrested the factory owner Dilshad,” the SP said.
Police said that an FIR has been registered against both of them.
A blast took place at Ruhi Industries in Dhaulana area on Saturday.
Bhukar said, “So far 13 people have died while 20 are injured. The injured are being treated at various hospitals in Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad and Meerut.”
He said that of the 13 dead, 11 have been identified, and they are from Shahjahanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Bihar.
Bhandari village of Shahjahanpur district, located 280 km from Hapur, was plunged into shock as soon as the news of the blast was received.
Shahjahanpur Superintendent of Police S Anand told PTI that they have received information that 10 of the dead were from the village.
“We are in touch with the police administration in Hapur to get information about other people killed or injured in the accident,” he said.
In a statement, Shahjahanpur police have identified the dead as Sarvesh, Anil, Bhure, Ramu, Anoop, Prempal, Irfan, Chaviram, Noor Hasan and Raghavendra.
Village head’s representative Dharmendra Singh Kushwaha told that about 40 people of the village were working in the factory.
“At least 10 people from our village have died in the accident. Around eight others are hospitalised,” he said.
“Around 20 workers had recently come to their homes to celebrate Eid. Some of them are among those killed or injured in the blast,” he said.
Some villagers claimed that the relatives of the victims, who reached Hapur after hearing the news of the incident, were not being allowed to meet them.
Resident Akhtar Ali told that the laborers were living in the huts of Hapur.
Ali said, the families of those killed or injured in the Hapur accident are finding it difficult to get information about their loved ones.
Another villager Rakesh told that his son also works in the same factory in Hapur. Rakesh said that he fears the most as he has not heard from his son after the incident.
Inspector General of Police, Meerut range, Praveen Kumar said the factory was given a license to manufacture only electronic items, and an investigation is underway to find out how the explosives got there.
Police said they suspected that crackers were being made in the factory.
Bhukar said that Dilshad and Waseem were charged under IPC sections 286 (negligent conduct with respect to explosive substance), 287 (negligent conduct in relation to machinery), 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), 308 (attempt to murder), 337 ( Act) has been registered. endangering human life) and 338 (causing grievous hurt).
The SP said that the bodies of the victims have been sent for post-mortem.
District Magistrate Medha Rupam said that the matter is being investigated. He said, the factories in the area are being investigated and soon the reality of the incident will come out and strict action will be taken against the accused.
About 30 people were present at the UPSIDC industrial area factory in Dholana, about 80 km from the national capital, at the time of the incident, officials said.
The blast was so strong that the roofs of some factories located nearby were damaged. It took three hours for the fire tenders to douse the fire.
President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief over the loss of lives.