Blast in Kerala's Kannur leaves one dead, probe points to firecracker storage (Lead)

Kannur, Aug 30 (IANS) One person was killed and another injured in a powerful blast at a house in Kannur’s Kannapuram area early on Saturday morning.

The police dismissed initial reports of a crude bomb blast, stating that a powerful firecracker caused the explosion.

The deceased has been identified as Muhammed Asham, a resident of Chalad in Kannur city. The police said that one Anoop Malik, who is a resident of Alavil in Kannur, had taken the house at Keezhara on rent, and Asham was his relative.

The explosion, which took place around 2 a.m., completely destroyed the house. The body of the victim was torn apart, and the remains were found scattered at the site.

According to the Kannur police, a bomb disposal squad and fire and rescue personnel, who rushed to the scene after being alerted by locals, discovered several unexploded firecrackers at the site, reinforcing the suspicion that the house was being used for illegal firecracker production or storage.

The shockwaves from the blast damaged doors and windows and caused cracks in the walls of several houses in the vicinity.

A case has been registered against Anoop Malik, who is at large now, under the Explosives Act. The house owner, Govindan, told the media that the accused had said while renting the house that three persons would stay there and that they were running a spare parts shop in Pariyaram, about 40 km from here.

Police sources said Malik was also an accused in a similar blast case at Kannur’s Podikund in 2016, where a blast on the night of March 23 at his rented house destroyed about 15 houses completely and damaged 30 partially in the neighbourhood. About 10 people, including his wife and daughter, were injured in the incident in which his two-storey rented house was also destroyed.

Malik is reported to be manufacturing firecrackers for temple festivals and other celebrations. Local residents said they had no information about the occupants of the house where the blast occurred on Saturday, as they returned home late at night and never interacted with neighbours.

An investigation is underway to determine the circumstances surrounding the incident.

--IANS

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