Kaushambi , Authorities have razed a three-storey house of the main accused in the cracker factory blast in Manouri town that killed 13 people, officials said on Wednesday.
The operation was carried out by a joint team of the Prayagraj Development Authority and Kaushambi Police.
A bulldozer was stationed at Naushad’s house at 6 pm on Tuesday and the property was brought down to rubble after an 11-hour operation, they said.
The action was taken two days after the blast occurred at a cracker factory in the Pipri Police Station area here. There were 11 children among the blast victims.
District Magistrate Amit Pal said the house was constructed without the required building map approval and other permissions from the authority.
“The three-storey house of the main accused Naushad was completely demolished in the joint action by PDA officials and Kaushambi Police. The demolition operation continued from 6 pm on Tuesday till 5 am on Wednesday,” Pal said.
On Monday night, the night of the blast, the district administration demolished warehouses linked to the illegal cracker business.
“Strict action will continue against those violating the rules,” Pal said.
Factory owner Naushad was arrested on Tuesday. Two women -– Shabana, Naushad’s sister-in-law, and Saina, his niece – were also held.
The police are looking for Shakeel, Adil, and Kahkashan Begum and have announced a reward of ₹25,000 each for information leading to their whereabouts.
Naushad, Adil, Kahkashan Begum, Shakeel, Shabana and Saina were booked under sections 105 and 288 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and sections 4, 5 and 9-B of the Explosives Act.
The police are identifying properties allegedly acquired through illegal income by all six.
They are also collecting evidence to invoke the National Security Act .
Nine police personnel were suspended for alleged negligence in allowing the factory to operate illegally.
Inspector Shivcharan Ram, former Pipri station house officer; sub-inspectors Vikas Singh, Vinay Singh, Ajit Kumar Singh, Abhishek Gupta, Manish Pal and Amit Dwivedi; head constable Jitendra Kumar and constable Krishna Kumar were relieved of their duty.
The blast damaged several houses within about 100 metres of the factory, with three properties collapsing completely.
This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
