Guntur (AP): At least 15 people,
including two children, were killed on Monday and six others
injured when gelatin sticks and detonators exploded in a house
at Narayanapuram village in this district, police said.
Ten mutilated bodies have been recovered from the
debris so far, they said. The impact of the explosion was such
that the house and its neighbouring houses around have also
been reduced to rubble.
The injured have been admitted to the government
hospital in Guntur.
The house belongs one B Koteswara Rao, a licensed
dealer of explosives. He used to blast stone quarries with the
explosives and his house was full of the gelatin sticks as he
had received a truck load of them in the wee hours.
When Rao's wife was cooking lunch, the gas cylinder
stared leaking and there was smoke. Seeing this, Rao raised an
alarm. Neighbours rushed to his rescue, and suddenly there was
a big blast, in which Rao and his wife perished.
Apart from Rao's house, six other neighbouring
houses around have been reduced into rubble, police said.
Rao has an authorised stock point at neighbouring
Gammmalapadu village, the stronghold of Maoists.
Police had registered three cases against Rao for
keeping explosives illegally in residential area. However,
residents in the area alleged that police had neglected
their complaints.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, November 17, 2009, 00:36