BHUBANESWAR: A month after deadly explosion at an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit claimed the life of a woman in Balipatna, the victim’s husband has disappeared from police radar. The blast occurred on November 1 in Mishra Sahi under Balipatna police limits. Mutilated body of the woman identified as Laxmipriya Mishra was recovered from the debris by the police, while there was no trace of her husband Gyanendra Mishra, who was running the unit without licence. The couple is survived by their two daughters who were not in the house when the incident occurred.
Commissionerate Police said the post-mortem report confirmed the body parts recovered from the spot belonged to only one person. Police suspect that Gyanendra fled after the blast.“During investigation, locals told us that they had seen Mishra after the explosion. We suspect that Gyanendra is alive and we are trying to trace him,” Balipatna IIC Akash Rana said.
The investigation revealed that the materials used for making firecrackers were stored in the house. A case was registered under Sections 286 and 304 of IPC and Explosive Substances Act, Rana said.Gyanendra’s father Nrusingha Charan had expertise in manufacturing firecrackers and the entire family was involved. In fact, they were dubbed as ‘Nuria Mishra Bana Ghara’ by the locals.
A local vendor said he has grown up watching Nrusingha family manufacturing firecrackers. Yet, police could not notice the same. This was not the first incident to strike Nrusingha’s family.“About 15 years back, Nrusingha’s eldest son Chaitanya was killed in a similar explosion. A blast had taken place at one of their godowns having firecrackers,” said locals.