Residents of Rajajinagar 9th Block started panicking on Saturday morning when they saw thick black smoke emanating from closed drains. The smoke soon engulfed the area, causing residents to fear a leak of some sort.
However, the police traced the source to a scrap merchant who had tried to dispose of some chemicals in the drain.
“The accused, Swamy Gangaiah, wanted to recover the tin cans that contained the chemicals for recycling,” said a senior police officer.
Swamy told the police that he had bought the bulk scrap from a chemical factory along with several tin boxes filled with a chemical substance.
“When he dumped the contents into the drain, a fire broke out and smoke from the drain started coming out of the vents,” the officer added.
Fire tenders rushed to the spot and put out the blaze. No one was injured. A preliminary probe revealed that the cans held a solvent (tetrahydrofuran). Samples have been sent to the forensic science laboratory for analysis.
“We will summon the management of the chemical factory for questioning to ascertain their role based on which legal action will be taken,” said Shashikumar, DCP (North).
