SIT begins probe into Gujarat warehouse explosion that killed 21, inspects accident site

Deesa: The Special Investigation Team formed by the Gujarat government to probe into the warehouse explosion that killed 21 persons began its work on Thursday by visiting the accident site.

The state has set up the SIT under IAS officer Bhavin Pandya to investigate various aspects linked to the deadly explosion that tore through the warehouse near Deesa town in Banaskantha district on Tuesday.

The SIT members met at Deesa circuit house on Thursday morning before inspecting the site with district officials, including Banaskantha superintendent of police, Akshayraj Makwana.

“We have started our investigation from today itself and collected necessary information from local officials after visiting the site,” Pandya told reporters in Deesa.

Pandya currently serves as the Secretary (Land Reforms) in the state Revenue Department.

The other SIT members include Deputy Inspector General Vishalkumar Vaghela, Director of Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) HP Sanghavi, and JA Gandhi, chief engineer of Road and Building Department.

As per a government notification issued on Wednesday, the SIT will look into aspects like the exact cause of the explosion, whether the warehouse owner had permission for manufacturing firecrackers, and whose negligence led to the tragedy.

A preliminary probe by the district police had pointed out that the presence of aluminium powder, an ingredient to make firecrackers, had led to the huge explosion and blaze in the warehouse, claiming 21 lives.

Besides aluminium powder, an FSL team also found yellow dextrin powder, a pyrotechnic binder, from the warehouse where firecrackers were stored, Banaskantha district Superintendent of Police Akshayraj Makwana had told reporters on Wednesday.

Though the SP had admitted that both substances are used for manufacturing firecrackers, he had said that a detailed investigation was underway to ascertain whether firecrackers were manufactured in the godown.

The warehouse, where the explosion took place around 9.45 am on Tuesday, is located in an industrial area near Deesa town of Banaskantha.

Soon after the accident, police arrested warehouse owners Deepak Mohnani and his father Khubchand Mohnani from neighbouring Sabarkantha district.

Both were booked under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita on the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to murder and under the Explosives Act and the Explosive Substances Act, police had said.