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Fourteen people were killed and another 10 seriously injured in a major blast that rocked a crowded locality in Bihar's Bhagalpur district, pulling down a number of structures, the state police chief said on Friday.
The magnitude of the destruction in the incident caused Prime Minister Narendra Modi to sit up and take note.
The director general of police S K Singhal has blamed unregulated illegal firecracker business as being responsible for the explosion that took place in Kajwalichak locality falling under Tatarpur police station area.
The prime minister posted on his Twitter handle that he spoke to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar over phone, expressed anguish over the loss of lives, prayed for speedy recovery of those who were injured and took stock of the relief work being carried out at the site by the administration.
A statement from the chief minister's office said Kumar summoned chief secretary Amir Subhani and director general of police S K Singhal to get a detailed feedback and gave instructions for proper treatment of the injured and suitable action after a thorough investigation.
Later, Singhal addressed a press conference in Patna and said that the explosion had taken place half an hour before midnight on Thursday and after the debris was cleared after a nearly 10-hour-long effort.
The DGP also said that ten others who survived the blast and were pulled out from under the rubble. They are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bhagalpur.
He said searches conducted by the dog squad and forensic team has led to the recovery of a large quantity of material used in the manufacture of firecrackers, though it was found that none of the households in the area had a license.
"It is the responsibility of the police station concerned to keep a check on such illegal and dangerous activities," Singhal said.
Accordingly, Tatarpur station house officer Sudhanshu Kumar has been held prima facie guilty of laxity and placed under suspension, said the DGP.
He said the blast had taken place inside the house of Leelavati Devi, a widow who lived there with other family members and was said to be involved in the manufacture of firecrackers. All five occupants of the house, three of whom were women, have died.
"The remaining deaths are of people living in adjoining buildings. These include Dhirendra Mandal, a neighbour of Leelavati Devi, who is said to have been involved in unlicensed firecracker business," he said.
Mandal had lost a brother in a similar blast that took place in 2002, a few days before Deepawali, which claimed altogether four lives, Singhal added.