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Rocket launcher explodes in scrap dealer's shop

Kamla Bora in Jaipur

A rocket launcher exploded in a scrap dealer's shop in Sewar village, near Bharatpur, on Thursday, injuring about a dozen persons, police said here.

The explosion led to panic in the area, with residents yet to forget the trauma following an explosion in the Army's Ordnance depot two months back, when ammunition exploded for about a week, killing two persons. The ammunition, stored in one of the biggest ordnance depots of the Army, exploded following a fire, the cause of which is yet to be officially disclosed.

Many rocket launchers and other ammunition were scattered over several kilometres following the explosion. Although the Army and local police collected some damaged ammunition, scattered in fields, several items were reportedly taken away by residents and sold to scrap dealers, who purchased them for extracting metal.

It is believed that the launcher exploded yesterday when dealer Prem Kabadi, of nearby Paar village, was trying to cut it open for extracting metal.

Three persons in the shop, who were injured, have been sent to the district hospital in Bharatpur. Several others injured were provided first-aid at the primary health centre in Sewar.

The police registered a case against the scrap dealer and have launched a search for illegal stocks of ammunition in other scrap dealers' shops in the area.

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