A blast during the disposal of recovered bombs and firecrackers triggered panic and damaged homes in Bhaluara Takia village under the G B Nagar police station area of Siwan on Saturday, while angry villagers briefly held policemen at the site and surrounded senior officers.
The explosion occurred near a canal as authorities were disposing of the material recovered during a special inspection drive. According to the report, the sound spread panic through the surrounding area, while windowpanes and asbestos roofs of several nearby houses were damaged.
Villagers angered by the incident held policemen present at the spot hostage. Maharajganj SDPO Aman and G B Nagar SHO Manoj Kumar Singh were also gheraoed by residents during the confrontation. The report did not specify how long the officers were surrounded or whether anyone was injured in the disposal blast.
The operation came after the Siwan district administration launched a special drive against the illegal manufacture, storage and sale of firecrackers. The crackdown followed a blast at a house in Alampur village under Jamo police station on October 23, in which five people were killed.
The victims were identified as Amruddin Ahmad, 70, Muskan Siddiqui, 20, Khushbu Siddiqui, 10, Arshad Siddiqui, 8, all from Alampur, and Rajkumar, also known as Bhola, 35, of Sadarpur. Rajkumar was a daily wage worker involved in cracker manufacturing. Their bodies were sent to Sadar Hospital for post-mortem examinations.
Residents told the report that cracker manufacturing had continued at Amruddin’s house for 35 to 40 years. They also recalled explosions at the same location in 2000 and 2004, in which Amruddin’s son Amurat and Bihari Mahto were killed and Amruddin was injured.
Jeev Narayan Yadav, a representative of the local Mukhiya Sangh, said manufacturing was continuing in four to five houses belonging to relatives from the Sheikh community. He attributed the activity’s profitability to demand during weddings, Chhath Puja and Muharram.
Siwan district officials have directed field-level officers and police station heads to intensify inspections and take legal action against violators. District Magistrate Vijay Prakash Meena and Superintendent of Police Bharat Soni ordered circle officers and station house officers to conduct intensive checks. The inspection drive was conducted on Saturday and was scheduled to continue on Sunday.
Soni said Amruddin had obtained a wholesale cracker licence in 2010, but had not renewed it. He said further legal action would be taken against those responsible for the lapses. The administration’s next steps include continued inspections and action against illegal manufacturing, storage and sale of firecrackers.
