‘Aluminium powder caused explosion in Guj godown’

Deesa: A forensic investigation has confirmed that the presence of aluminium powder, one of the ingredients to make firecrackers, caused the huge explosion and blaze which ripped through the warehouse near Deesa town in Gujarat killing 21 persons a day ago, police said on Wednesday.

Apart from aluminium powder, a team from the forensic science laboratory (FSL) also found yellow dextrin powder from the warehouse where firecrackers were stored, Banaskantha district Superintendent of Police Akshayraj Makwana told reporters.

Though the SP admitted that both substances are used for manufacturing firecrackers, he told reporters that a detailed investigation was underway to find out whether firecrackers were manufactured in the godown or not.

The godown, where the explosion took place around 9.45 am on Tuesday, is located in an industrial area near Deesa town, around 30 km from the Banaskantha district headquarters. The blast was so powerful that it sent body parts of workers flying 200-300 metres away. Family members of some of the workers who stayed on the premises were crushed to death after heavy chunks of the RCC roof slab fell on them, officials said.

Police on Tuesday night arrested warehouse owners Deepak Mohnani and his father Khubchand Mohnani from neighbouring Sabarkantha district, Makwana said, adding that an FIR was registered in Deesa against the duo.