The alleged operator of the illegal firecracker factory where a blast killed nine people in Ahmedabad's Ramol area has been arrested, police said on Sunday.
Police have intensified the investigation and registered a criminal case against those accused of running the unit without the required licences and safety approvals.
Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Anupam Singh Gahlaut said the Crime Branch arrested the main accused, Mehul Dodia, from the Sabarmati area after he fled the scene despite being injured in the explosion.
Gahlaut said Mehul was present at the factory when the blast occurred. "He was also injured and fled the spot after the incident," he said.
Police have also arrested Mehul's mother, Ramila Dodia, who managed the factory, and his alleged partner, Sadiq Saiyed. Ramila sustained a rupture in her eardrums in the blast.
According to the Commissioner, the factory had previously been shut down after its licence expired on March 4 and was not renewed.
However, it had resumed operations around 20 to 25 days before the explosion to manufacture firecrackers for Ganesh festival orders. Labourers from Dahod district had been brought to Ahmedabad for the work.
"The preliminary investigation indicates that there were two or three small structures at the site. While they were manufacturing the firecrackers and carrying out the filling process inside, sparks appear to have originated there," Gahlaut said, adding that investigators expect to establish the exact sequence of events after questioning Mehul.
He said forensic experts and explosives specialists had collected evidence from the site and found "total violations".
"Even if a licence had been granted, only 15 kg of explosives should have been stored, but there were many sacks containing far more than 15 kg of explosives. The factory had no permission whatsoever to operate, yet it was functioning," he said.
The biggest revelation in the case is that a major blast had also occurred at the same location in 2014. A 14-year-old had died in the incident. At that time, the factory was operated by Ramila, and following that incident, her licence was cancelled.
However, it is alleged that Ramila later obtained a new licence in the name of her son, Mehul, and restarted the factory.
Police have registered an FIR at Ramol Police Station against Mehul Dodia, Ramila Dodia and Sadiq Saiyed under Sections 105, 287, 288 and 61(2) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with Sections 5(a) and 6 of the Explosive Substances Act, 1908, and Section 9(b) of the Explosives Act, 1884.
The complaint alleges the accused rented land in Vastral and operated the factory illegally without the mandatory licences and permits. Police said additional accused would be named if further evidence emerged.
The investigation was also examining the role of the landowner, financiers and those who placed orders for the firecrackers. "Some had paid advances of Rs 50,000, while others had paid around Rs one lakh," he said, adding that investigators were trying to determine whether customers knew the unit was operating illegally.
Police are also probing the source of the explosives and the nature of the alleged partnership between Mehul and Sadiq Saiyed.
Gahlaut said a similar firecracker manufacturing unit linked to Saiyed had recently witnessed a blast in Kheda district, though no deaths were reported there.
The explosion occurred on Saturday afternoon at an allegedly illegal firecracker manufacturing unit on Ramol-Gatrad Road. The blast killed nine people, including three children, and injured six others.
The force of the explosion was so severe that it shattered windows at nearby factories and made identification of some victims difficult.
Following the incident, joint teams of the Ahmedabad Police, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation and Fire Department launched inspections across the city's outskirts.
Two firecracker units in Gyaspur and Narol were sealed on Saturday night. Gahlaut said inspections would continue across the city and adjoining rural areas, adding that illegal structures found operating without permission would face action in coordination with the concerned authorities.
"We will compile all the evidence, file the charge sheet at the earliest, and ensure that the accused do not escape this time and that the case is taken up for trial as soon as possible," the Police Commissioner said.
--IANS
