Blast at scrap dealer's place claims 4 lives, including 3 minors in Jharkhand

Jharkhand: The toll in the blast in Jharkhand's Palamu district rose to five with one more boy succumbing to injuries, police said Monday.

Seven-year-old Majid Ansari succumbed to his injury while he was being brought to Ranchi's Rajendra Institute of Medical Science (RIMS) for better treatment, he said.

At least four persons, including three minors, were killed and three others injured on Sunday in a blast that occurred at a scrap dealer's place in the Manatu police station area, about 190 km from the state capital Ranchi.

Palamu Superintendent of Police (SP) Reeshma Ramesan told PTI, "Four persons had died on Sunday, while one more person, who was on way to Ranchi’s RIMS for treatment, succumbed to his injuries late Sunday night." She said, "The area of occurrence has been sealed and they are waiting for forensic lab team to begin investigation. We are probing the incident from every angle, exploring all possibilities, including the likelihood of a bomb detonation." The deceased scrap dealer was identified as Isteyak Ansari (50) and others who were killed in the blast were Sahadat Ansari (8), Shaheed Ansari (8) and Varish Ansari (10). Afsana Khatun (14) and Rukhsana Khatun (17), who were injured in the incident, are undergoing treatment.

Rukhsana on Sunday had told the police that her father was sorting and weighing various scrap materials when the blast took place.

"Suddenly something in the scrap materials exploded, injuring everyone in the vicinity," she said.

The police, in a statement, said, "Prima facie, the death was due to an accidental explosion caused by debris accumulated and stored at the deceased's residence. Detailed investigation is underway and experts from the FSL team are also looking into the matter."