LUCKNOW: Seven police personnel, including Additional Commissioner of Kanpur Police, a Station House Officer (SHO), and a Chowki In-charge, were suspended for dereliction of duty on Thursday following an explosion that occurred in Bisati Bazaar area late Wednesday night.
However, Kanpur Police Commissioner Raghubir Lal denied any terrorist connection to the incident. While interacting with media persons on Thursday, the Commissioner clarified that the incident was linked to illegal firecrackers and not associated with any extremist group or organization.
“This is a completely local incident related to the storage of illegal firecrackers. No evidence has been found of involvement by any terror organization,” he said.
Around eight people had sustained injuries due to the blast.
The suspended police officers included SHO Vikram Singh, Chowki In-charge Rohit Tomar, Constables Chetan Kumar, Amit Kumar, Brahmanand, and Head Constable Imam-ul-Haq.
Police Commissioner Lal also confirmed that legal action was being taken against those storing firecrackers without licences, and so far, 12 individuals have been arrested.
Earlier, reports suggested that the blast originated from a scooter parked outside a shop.
However, CCTV footage later revealed that the explosion actually occurred in a cardboard box placed outside a shop. The footage showed a spark emerging suddenly, followed by a massive blast.
Both the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) and Military Intelligence (MI) teams reached the site immediately after the explosion to collect evidence.
The agencies later confirmed that the blast was not terror-related but caused by stored fireworks. After confirming the cause, Police Commissioner Raghuwir Lal led a search and seizure operation that lasted till 2 am.
Several shop locks were broken open during the raid, and large quantities of illegal firecrackers were recovered, hidden under other goods.
The Bisati Bazaar, police said, had become a hub for illegal firecracker trading, especially ahead of Diwali. Police confiscated the explosives and detained multiple shopkeepers involved in the trade.
Additional CP Ashutosh Kumar said that the forensic examination revealed low-intensity explosives. “Initially, we suspected that a bomb had been planted in the scooter, but the investigation showed it was a fireworks explosion. No high explosives were found,” he clarified.
Investigators learned that several local shops had been illegally stocking large amounts of fireworks in residential and commercial spaces, posing a serious public safety risk.
Commissioner Raghuwir Lal strongly refuted the social media claims linking the incident to the ‘Khalistan Zindabad Force’, calling them “completely false and misleading.”
“This is not connected in any way to any organization or mosque. It is a local incident caused by illegal firecracker storage,” he said.