Prayagraj cracker blast : Accused's house bulldozed, 9 cops suspended

Authorities on Wednesday demolished the three-storey house of Naushad, the main accused in the cracker factory blast in Manouri that killed 13 people, including 11 children, officials said.

A joint team of the Prayagraj Development Authority (PDA) and Kaushambi Police carried out the demolition after officials found that the house had been constructed without the required building map approval and other permissions.

A bulldozer was stationed outside the property at 6 pm on Tuesday and the structure was brought down after an 11-hour operation that ended around 5 am on Wednesday, District Magistrate Amit Pal said.

“The three-storey house of the main accused Naushad was completely demolished in the joint action by PDA officials and Kaushambi Police,” Pal said.

The action came two days after the blast at an illegal cracker factory in the Pipri police station area. The explosion damaged several houses within a 100-metre radius, with three structures collapsing completely.

The district administration had also demolished warehouses linked to the illegal cracker business on Monday night, hours after the blast.

Naushad, the factory owner, was arrested on Tuesday. His sister-in-law Shabana and niece Saina were also arrested.

Police are searching for three other accused — Shakeel, Adil and Kahkashan Begum — and have announced a reward of Rs 25,000 each for information leading to their arrest.

The six accused have been booked under Sections 105 (culpable homicide) and 288 (negligent conduct involving explosives) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and Sections 4, 5 and 9-B of the Explosives Act.

Police are also identifying properties allegedly acquired through illegal income by the accused and collecting evidence to examine whether provisions of the National Security Act can be invoked.

Meanwhile, nine police personnel were suspended for alleged negligence in allowing the cracker factory to operate illegally.

Those suspended include former Pipri station house officer Shivcharan Ram, sub-inspectors Vikas Singh, Vinay Singh, Ajit Kumar Singh, Abhishek Gupta, Manish Pal and Amit Dwivedi, head constable Jitendra Kumar and constable Krishna Kumar.

“Strict action will continue against those violating the rules,” the district magistrate said.