Father, son killed as crackers-laden scooter bursts into flames in Tamil Nadu

VILLIPURAM: In a tragic incident, a man and his son died after the country-made firecrackers there were carrying while travelling on a two-wheeler exploded. Three others got injured in this incident.

V Kalainesan (36) of Kakaiyanthopu village near Ariyankuppam in Puducherry, who was working in a private company in Puducherry, would buy crackers from the manufacturers in Ariyankuppam and sell them in retail to his friends and relatives during Diwali time. 

This year too, he sold some of the firecrackers and kept the rest of the stock at his in-law's house at Koonimedu village near Marakanam in Villupuram district. On Thursday, he was returning from his in-law's house to his native village on his scooter along with his son Pradeesh (7), according to a police source from Kottakuppam. 

"He was carrying two sacks full of country-made firecrackers on the footrest of the scooter and made his son sit on them. Near the Puducherey border (between East Coast road and Karikadai road junction at Kottakuppam), the crackers suddenly exploded killing both of them. 

Since a large number of crackers were being carried, the explosion was so severe that the body pieces of the duo were thrown away and found on the roofs of nearby houses. Only the engine and body base of the scooter remained on the spot. Glasses of the windows in the nearby houses and a lorry parked near the spot were also damaged.

"Hearing the noise, I rushed out of my house and ran towards the main road. There I saw very thick smoke.  Once the smoke was cleared, we saw a half of a person's body lying outside a closed shop. At first, we thought it was a country bomb. Later, we came to know it's a cracker explosion," said Sharfudeen, a resident of Kottakuppam.

Immediately, policemen from Kottakuppam and Muthialpet in Puducherry rushed to the spot and sent the injured persons to JIPMER hospital in Puducherry. Later, the body parts were collected and sent to a private medical college hospital in Ganabathychettykulam for autopsy. Villupuram range DIG M Pandian, SP N Sreenatha, Kottakuppam DSP B Arun inspected the spot and inquired about the incident. A case was filed at Kottakuppam police station and a team of policemen u der inspector A P Saravanan inquired about the incident.

Also, three persons -- Shahid Ahamed (60) of Kottakuppam and Ganesan (45) of Karuvadikuppam in Puducherry -- who stood near the spot to cross the road, got severe injuries. One Viji (36) of Lenin Nagar, who was standing outside a shop near the spot, too was injured after she was hit by a piece from the vehicle following the blast," said police official source.

"We suspect that due to the friction, all the firecrackers exploded at the same time. Since the numbers are high, the damage was severe," said a senior police official from Kottakuppam. Forensic experts under Shanmugam came from Villupuram and collected the samples of crackers and the remaining parts of the scooter for further investigation. 

Kalainesan was living with his wife Rubina, who stayed in her mother's house at Koonimedu with her 11-month-old daughter. 

Meantime, a police team from Marakanam inspected the house of the deceased Kalainesan's in-law and seized a sack full of country crackers.

Based on the complaint from the village administrative officer V Manikandan, a case was filed against Kalainesan's father-in-law M Govindaraj (50) for stocking the country crackers. Police also warned the villagers to destroy the country crackers if bought from Kalainesan.