4 dead in explosion at illegal cracker unit

Chennai

Four persons, including two women, were killed in a fire that broke out in a house where firecrackers were manufactured illegally in Kancheepuram on Tuesday. Police arrested the owner of the unit, Maitheen, following the mishap in which his wife and son died.

The deceased persons were identified as Sharina Banu (45), wife of Maitheen, their son Misthan (22) and neighbour Masthan (37) from Nagalathutheru in Kancheepuram. One of the injured, Sarbudeen Banu (70), died later without responding to treatment.

After the preliminary inquiry, police said that Maitheen had been running the unit illegally for years at his house. The firecrackers were being made for the upcoming Deepavali festival. Maitheen’s wife and son used to prepare the crackers while he used to go for work at a fast-food shop. 

Similarly, on Tuesday around 3 pm while Sharina Banu and Misthan were packing the crackers, they suddenly burst and the whole house caught fire. While their house was destroyed in the accident, the fire spread to the nearby houses too.

Soon the neighbours alerted the Kancheepuram fire and rescue service personnel and the Vishnu Kanchi police.

The TNFRS personnel doused the fire after fighting for an hour. The bodies of the deceased were sent for post-mortem examination to the Kancheepuram Government Hospital. 

“Maitheen used to buy the raw materials for making the crackers from a dealer in Vellore. He was doing this for many years without the licence,” a police officer said.

The Vishnu Kanchi police have registered a case and trying to nab the dealer who supplied the raw materials from Vellore. The Kancheepuram Deputy Superintendent of Police Balasubramanian and Minister P Benjamin also visited the spot.