Kota, Following repeated complaints from locals, the Baran district administration and police took action on Friday and shut down a firecracker manufacturing unit that was allegedly operating illegally in a populated zone, disguised as a warehouse and sales unit on Atru Road, officials said.
Residents had claimed that the area resembled a “powder keg,” where even a minor spark could trigger a
significant disaster.
The unit was allegedly functioning without a valid firecracker manufacturing license in a densely populated area along the roadside, posing significant safety risks.
According to officials, the premises lacked mandatory fire safety equipment and firefighting arrangements, despite being located close to residential houses and wheat fields.
During the inspection, a sales and storage license for firecrackers was produced on the spot; however, the license for manufacturing was missing, and evidence of manufacturing materials and assembly was found on-site, officials said.
The situation drew attention on Friday morning after repeated complaints from a local, Bhanu Pratap Singh, who allegedly threatened self-immolation if no action was taken and contacted the Baran superintendent of police.
Bhanu claimed he had filed complaints through the chief minister’s portal and had even reached out to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, but alleged that no substantial action had been taken.
Later in the day, Baran SDM Vishwajeet Singh, trainee RPS Bhajanlal, also in charge of Baran city police station and Municipal Council Commissioner Bhuvnesh Kumar conducted an on-site inspection and discovered the irregularities and the illegal operation of firecracker manufacturing. However, no labourers were present at the time, officials noted.
Bhajanlal stated that the inspection revealed that the firecracker manufacturing was being conducted illegally under the guise of a storage warehouse license. No valid documents related to the factory’s manufacturing operations could be produced. Although no workers were on-site during the inspection, clear evidence of firecracker manufacturing was found there, he said.
Over 500 bags of materials intended for illegal firecracker manufacturing were recovered from the factory’s godowns, he added.
Following the initial inquiry, three godowns were sealed, and a case was registered under the Explosive Act. Further investigations are ongoing, but no arrests have been made as of yet, Bhajanlal stated.
Officials acknowledged that the premises functioned more as an illegal firecracker factory than a legitimate warehouse. The establishment is purportedly known as ‘Khandelwal Agency’.
The action comes days after a fire at an illegal firecracker factory left seven labourers dead and two others with serious injuries in Bhiwadi.
A day after the tragedy, joint teams of the police and revenue department on Tuesday, unearthed two illegal firecracker manufacturing units and a warehouse during a search operation in the same town.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
