KENDRAPARA: A 74-year-old woman suffered grievous injuries in an explosion at an illegal firecracker manufacturing unit in Ostarahat village under Marshaghai police limits here on Thursday night.
The injured woman, Bilasini Mallick, was first admitted to Marshaghai community health centre (CHC) and later shifted to Kendrapara district headquarters hospital after her condition worsened.
IIC of Marshaghai police station Tapan Nayak said Bilasini’s son Gadadhar Mallick had illegally stocked firecrackers in the house due to which the explosion took place. The impact of the blast was so powerful that the six-room thatched house was completely destroyed. Fire service personnel took three hours to control the blaze.
Nayak said the elderly woman was alone in the house at the time of explosion. Gadadhar was reportedly arrested by police last year on charges of running an illegal cracker-making unit in his house.
Chemical substances, which were explosive in nature, have been recovered from the mishap site. The samples have been sent for scientific testing. “Police have registered a case under sections 3 and 5 of Indian Explosive Substances Act and relevant provisions of the BNS. No one has been arrested so far and further investigation is underway,” the IIC added.
Sources said Ostarahat is home to many firecracker manufacturers of the region. The village is now buzzing with cracker-making activities due to high demand of fireworks for the upcoming festival and marriage season.
A villager said following the mishap, many illegal firecracker makers of Ostarahat and nearby areas have fled their homes fearing crackdown by the administration.