KRISHNAGIRI: District Collector KM Sarayu has appointed V Bavananthi, District Revenue Officer of SIPCOT (land acquisition), to inquire into the blast in a firecracker shop at Palayapettai that killed nine people on Saturday. The officer visited the place on Monday and held inquiries with the locals.
S Vinitha (22), daughter-in-law of hotelier B Rajeshwari, who died in the accident, told the officer that the cylinder blast in the hotel was not the cause of the accident as was being claimed. “Many people are aware that the cracker shop owner Ravi used to manufacture small crackers in the shop,” she alleged.
R Saranya, daughter of Rajeswari said, “My mother doesn’t have any burn injury. If the cylinder had exploded, my mother would have sustained burns. Besides, a cylinder recovered from the hotel was intact. The accident could have happened because of the firecracker shop.”
The collector told TNIE, “The forensic report has stated that the cylinder blast triggered the incident. Officials from Petroleum & Explosives Safety Organization (PESO) collected samples. A survey of the number of firecracker shops and their location will be held this week.”
According to sources, Krishnagiri police inspected the shop earlier but allegedly did not find any violations or illegal activities there.