KOCHI: Kalady police on Sunday arrested two more persons, including the owner of the quarry, who had been on the run after the blast that occurred at a house adjacent to a granite quarry at Illithode in Malayattoor.
Two migrant workers were killed in the blast that occurred on September 21. Benny Puthen, one of the owners of the quarry who has been booked for culpable homicide, was taken into custody from Bangalore, while Santhosh,40, Ettadiyil, Naduvattom, one of the managers, was arrested from Karakkad, police said.
Earlier, Ranjith, 32, another manager of the quarry, and Sandeep aka Ajesh, 34, both natives of Naduvattom, were arrested. According to police, the quarry owners had stored around 1,500 detonators and 350 gelatin sticks in the house where the workers had been staying flouting the law that explosives should be kept in a specially built magazine. The deceased, Periyannan Lakshmanan of Salem and D Naga of Karnataka, were under home quarantine.
Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) had cancelled the licence of Vijaya Quarry Works for allegedly storing explosives beyond the permissible limit of 150 kg.