Patna: Altogether seven people were burnt alive and four others were critically injured in a deadly explosion at an illegal firecracker-manufacturing factory in Bhiwadi town of Rajasthan’s Khairthal-Tijara district on Monday, officials said. The incident occurred around 9am in Khushkheda industrial area in Bhiwadi.“Five of the seven deceased persons hail from Bihar’s East Champaran district,” a communique issued from the Bihar chief minister’s office (CMO) said.Terming the explosion in the Khushkheda industrial area as ‘extremely tragic’, CM Nitish Kumar on Monday expressed deep condolences on the death of five workers from Bihar in the accident. Nitish also announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each to the next of kin of the five deceased people from Bihar.“The CM directed officials to provide ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each from the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund to the next of kin of the five deceased from Bihar,” the CMO said, adding, “The CM directed the resident commissioner, New Delhi, to establish necessary coordination with the Rajasthan govt and ensure proper arrangements for bringing the mortal remains of the deceased to Bihar.”East Champaran DM Saurav Jorwal said two of the five deceased workers from Bihar were identified as Sujan Kumar and Mintu Kumar, while three other workers were not identified yet. The district administration is working to identify the remaining deceased.Sujan and Mintu were natives of Narulla village under Shikarganj police station in East Champaran district, an official said.“Sujan lived in Rajasthan with his entire family for the last three years. My sister (Sujan’s bua) also lives there. She called around 10am over the phone and informed me about the incident. She said an explosion occurred in the factory and Sujan was burnt alive,” Sujan’s father Shivji Paswan told reporters.“It was a garment factory where seven people died, but firecrackers were manufactured inside it illegally,” Sumitra Pareek, additional district magistrate of Khairthal-Tijara, told reporters. “The premises was leased out in the name of a garment factory but, as per the preliminary report, firecrackers were manufactured illegally,” she said.She said the police came to know about the incident during a routine patrol, following which a rescue operation was launched immediately.The bodies were severely burnt, and many were reduced to skeletons. Body parts were found scattered, and the rescue team collected the body parts in polythene bags.Officials said DNA samples of the deceased were taken to establish identities as the bodies were badly charred, and that five workers have been identified so far.
