Friday 19 / April / 2024
New Delhi: A cracker blast killed one person and injured four others in north Delhi's Naya Bazar area on Tuesday setting off panic among the people in the wake of high alert in the city, even as police ruled out any terror angle in it.
The explosion took place around 10.40am when Motalip Mirza, a labourer, was carrying two large packets of crackers. A CCTV footage of the incident shows that the blast occurred as Mirza put the bags in front of a shop, Saraswati Traders in the Pattewali Gali, police said.
"The cracker blast took place due to high pressure and the huge quantity of crackers. Mirza died in the explosion while four others were injured," said a senior police officer.
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, who is in Bahrain, called Delhi Police Commissioner Alok Kumar Verma to take stock of the situation in the national capital, which is on high alert due to the festive season. He instructed Verma to take all possible measures to ensure peace in the city.
Several specialised teams of Delhi Police, including forensics, officers from the Special Cell and the SWAT teams, swooped down on the area after the blast to ascertain if there was any terror angle in it.
However, on the basis of preliminary investigation they have ruled out any terror angle. SBK Singh, special commissioner of police (Law and Order) North, tweeted, "Cracker blast took place in Lahori Gate area when a labour Motalip Mirza was carrying two bags of crackers. Handle crackers carefully."
Mirza was a resident of Murshidabad in West Bengal and was working as a labourer in Delhi for last 15-20 years. "He had collected the bags from Gali Zakaria Mohalla Fatak Hawas Khana in Lahori Gate. Several bags with similar materials have been found at the address," the officer said.
The injured have been identified as Bhupendra Gupta, Mahesh, Hawa Singh and Murari. The impact of the explosion shook the buildings and shops nearby. The window panes, fans and other items in the shops were broken.
