CHANDIGARH: Two boys were killed and nine people injured in a firecracker explosion during a religious procession in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district on Saturday, police said. Sources said the explosion took place around 4.30 pm when sparks from crackers being burst by people during the ‘nagar kirtan’ (religious procession) — taken out to mark the birth anniversary of Baba Deep Singh at Pahuwing village in Tarn Taran district — landed on a tractor-trolley where the fireworks were stacked.
Terming it as an accident, Tarn Taran Senior Superintendent of Police Dhruv Dahiya said the injured youth are in the age group of 20 to 25 years. The injured have been admitted to different hospitals. The deceased have been identified as Manpreet Singh (17) and Gurpreet Singh (12), the police said. Eyewitness, however, claimed that around 15 people may have died in this explosion. The procession was on its way from Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh in Pahuwind village to Gurdwara Tahla Sahib at Chabba village on the Tarn Taran-Amritsar road.
In Chandigarh, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered a magisterial probe into the incident and also announced an ex-gratia grant of Rs 5 lakh for the kin of the deceased and free treatment to the injured admitted in the local civil hospital and the Guru Nanak Dev Charitable Hospital. “During the nagar kirtan, youths were bursting crackers as part of celebratory fireworks. As they were doing so, the sparks fell on the tractor trolley which was carrying explosive material — potash and sulphur and firecrackers — that led to an explosion,” Dahiya said.
The tractor-trolley was reduced to a mangled piece of metal due to the impact of the explosion. The CM also directed the deputy commissioner of Tarn Taran to ensure that the injured get the best possible treatment.
Blast during procession
The explosion took place around 4.30 pm when sparks from crackers being burst by people during the ‘nagar kirtan’ (religious procession).