Four killed in blast at Bundelkhand Gaurav Mahotsav in Chitrakoot
Two blast victims died instantly, blown to pieces; two others seriously injured, later succumbed to their injuries. Tragic aftermath of the explosion.
Four teenagers died in a major blast that occurred in the instruments meant for firecrackers display on the second day of the two-day Bundelkhand Gaurav Mahotsav in Chitrakoot on Wednesday afternoon, said senior police and administrative officials.
All the dead are between 13 and18 years of age, police said.
Of the four blast victims, two died on the spot as they were blown to pieces due to the impact of the explosion, while two others were seriously injured and later succumbed to their injuries.
Chief minister Yogi Adityanath ordered a high-level inquiry committee under an additional director general (ADG) rank officer to probe the incident. He also announced ₹5 lakh ex gratia for the kin of the deceased and ₹50000 to those injured.
An FIR has been lodged against the owner of an entertainment company, Harsh Kamdar, Pankaj Jaat and their associates in this regard. The FIR was lodged under different IPC sections including 304 for culpable homicide.
Additional Director General (ADG), Kanpur Zone, Bhanu Bhaskar said he had reached the spot to investigate the reason behind the blast.
He said the committee will hand over the probe to the state government within three days.
Chitrakoot superintendent of police (SP), Arun Kumar Singh said the incident happened at the Chitrakoot Inter College ground where Mahotsav was being held. He said it was the final day of the Mahotsav and green crackers display was scheduled to be held in the evening following which crackers were placed behind the stage in a special equipment meant for bursting crackers.
He said the blast was so severe that human body parts were scattered around 100-metres away from the blast site while some of the parts were recovered from terrace of a two-storey school building.
Another local cop informed that the blast took place in the afternoon at 3.10 pm whose impact could be heard kilometres away from the ground. Senior officials, including deputy inspector general of Chitrakoot Dham Range, Ajay Kumar Singh, Chitrakoot DM Abhishek Anand and SP Arun Kumar Singh, and rescue team and bomb disposal squad rushed to the place to evacuate the injured.
Chitrakoot DM Abhishek Anand had initially confirmed that two persons died on the spot while two others have been seriously injured. He had said the injured have been referred to Prayagraj medical college. He said no students were present in the school building during the blast and the police and forensic teams have cordoned off the entire area and were trying to ascertain the reason behind the blast.
