Two accused arrested in illegal firecracker factory blast case in UP

Two accused wanted in connection with the illegal firecracker factory blast here, which claimed 14 lives, were arrested on Thursday, with one of them held after an encounter, police said.

Accused Adil sustained bullet injuries in both legs during the encounter and was admitted to the district hospital in the early hours of the day, Circle Officer Chayal Shivank Singh said.

Later on Thursday, police arrested Kahkashan Bano, wife of main accused Naushad, Superintendent of Police (SP) Satyanarayan Prajapat said.

Police had announced a reward of Rs 25,000 for information leading to her arrest, he said.

Six persons, including three women, were booked under sections 105 (culpable homicide) and 288 (negligent conduct involving explosives) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and sections 4, 5 and 9-B of the Explosives Act in connection with the blast.

Naushad was arrested following a police encounter on September 1, while two women accused, Shabana and Saina, have also been arrested and sent to jail, police said.

Three accused -- Shakeel, Adil and Shabana -- had been declared wanted and a reward of Rs 25,000 each had been announced for information leading to their arrest.

Circle Officer Singh said four police teams had been formed to arrest the three accused and raids were being conducted.

On the intervening night of Wednesday and Thursday, a Pipri police team learnt that Adil was approaching the canal bridge on the Kamalpur-Barethi road on a motorcycle, he said.

"When the police tried to surround him, Adil turned his motorcycle around and attempted to flee. When asked to surrender, he opened fire at the police team. In retaliatory firing in self-defence, he was shot in both legs and arrested," Singh said.

Police claimed to have recovered a country-made pistol, one live cartridge, three empty cartridges and a motorcycle from his possession.

A separate case under section 109(1) (attempt to murder), among others, of the BNS and Section 3/25 of the Arms Act, has been registered against Adil, the officer said.

During interrogation, Adil told police that he and his associates were involved in manufacturing and storing illegal firecrackers and explosive material for financial gain at a warehouse near the Mahmudpur-Manori power house.

Firecrackers and gunpowder stored at the warehouse exploded on August 31, killing 14 people and damaging several nearby houses, police said.

With the arrest of Kahkashan Bano, five of the six accused in the blast case have now been arrested, SP Prajapat said.

He added that two of the accused had been arrested after police encounters and two other women accused had already been arrested.

Of the three accused who had initially been declared absconders with a reward of Rs 25,000 each, two have now been arrested and one woman accused remains at large, he said.

After completing the legal formalities, police produced Kahkashan Bano before a court, the SP said.