BHOPAL/AHMEDABAD: Most of those killed in the powerful blast at the firecracker factory in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district on Tuesday hailed from adjoining Madhya Pradesh’s Dewas and Harda districts. Five of the eight injured are critical.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Dr Mohan Yadav announced Rs 2 lakh ex gratia to the kin of the deceased and Rs 50,000 to each injured person. State Cabinet Minister Nagar Singh Chouhan, who hails from neighbouring Gujarat, is being sent to the accident site in Gujarat for better coordination.
At least ten hail from the Dewas district, while eight are from the former. According to initial information, nine of the ten deceased from Dewas come from Sandalpur village under the Khategaon area.
They include six members from one family and three from another. They have been identified as Lakhan Bhopa (24), his wife Sunita (20), and his mother, Keshar Bai (50), as well as Lakhan’s siblings, Radha (11), Rukma (8), and Abhishek (5). The three others are Rakesh Bhopa (30), his wife Lali (25), and their daughter Kiran (5).
The contractor Pankaj, who also hails from Dewas and has been missing since morning, is suspected to have been killed.
A team of revenue and police departments led by Nayab Tehsildar Akhilesh Sharma is being sent to Banaskantha. The local BJP MLA, Ashish Sharma (Khategaon), has rushed to Sandalpur to coordinate return of the bodies to the village.
Meanwhile, sources said at least eight persons from Handia village in Harda district are suspected to have died in the blast. “We’re still working with the Banaskantha administration to get the identities of all the deceased and their profiles, and the final list of deceased and injured could take some more time,” Harda collector Aditya Singh told this newspaper.
Notably, a similar blast had flattened an illegal cracker factory in Harda district in February 2024, resulting in the deaths of at least 12 people and injuries to over 200 others.
According to Congress MLA from Harda, Ram Kishore Dogne, “7-8 deceased hail from one extended family, headed by Savita, who is also among the deceased. Even the contractor Laxmi, who had taken them to the factory in Gujarat for work, is among those missing and might have died.”
He said the labourers had no option but to find work elsewhere after the 2024 blast and another nearby factory shutting down. “They used to find work at the Gujarat factory in the past as well. They had returned to Gujarat just two days back,” the MLA said.
Meanwhile, an official said the two states are coordinating to transport the bodies to Dewas and Harda districts.
Grief fuels outrage, kin seek ‘justice, not aid’
“Four lakhs won’t bring back our sons,” grieving families lashed out, rejecting the compensation announced by the Gujarat govt as inadequate. “If we gather Rs 4 lakh and hand it to the government, will they return our 18-year-old child?” Sorrow turned anger as kin demanded ‘justice, not aid’.
Operation illegal, owner in police net
As per sources, a shocking truth has emerged in the probe – the entire operation was illegal, in contravention of norms. Police arrested the owner of the Deesa godown hours after the blast. Firecrackers were allegedly stored and manufactured illegally at the godown, police said.
