THANJAVUR
Two persons were killed and another person was injured when a blast ripped through an illegal cracker manufacturing unit near here on Wednesday. The unit was engaged in the manufacture of country fire crackers meant for use during temple festivals and funeral processions.
Police said Nagarajan (33) of Vilar near Thanjavur and Pichaiyan (52) of Raramuthirakottai near Ammapettai were employed in the illegal country cracker manufacturing unit owned by Ganapathy (48) of Cholan Nagar. The unit was functioning on the land belonging to Muthamilselvan at Raramuthirakottai.
On Wednesday, suddenly some crackers went off when Muthamilselvan, Nagarajan and Pichaiyan were at the unit. While Nagarjan was killed on the spot, Pichaiyan died on way to hospital. Muthamilselvan has been admitted to Thanjavur Medical College Hospital with serious injuries.
Ammapettai police registered a case. Kumbakonam Sub-Collector Pradeep Kumar, Papanasam Tahsildar Rani and DSP Selvaraj rushed to the spot and conducted inquiries.
Inquiries revealed that the licence to operate the cracker manufacturing unit expired on January 31, 2016, and that the unit was functioning illegally. The owner of the unit, Ganapathy, was arrested and further investigations are on.
