Telangana: Solvent maker held for minor blasts

Hyderabad: An organic solvent manufacturer was arrested by the Rachakonda police for causing two minor blasts in Ibrahimpatnam a week ago through negligence.

Police said the suspect, B. Nandagopal, sold a three-year-old tin used to store an organic solvent to a push cart vendor for Rs 50 without cleaning it properly. The chemicals inside generated a gas and it exploded on the first day. The spilled solvent again exploded like a cracker when a local resident stepped on it and he was injured.

Police booked a case of negligence against Nandakumar. A resident of Bapu Nagar in Amberpet, Nandagopal had tried to sell the solvent to a customer in Chennai in 2013.  “He sent two tins to a customer in Chennai, but the customer returned it due to poor quality. Due to a leak in the tin, the chemical turned solid over time, and got deposited inside the tin.

“Hours before the blast the suspect had sold one of the tins to a person named Anil Kumar, a jalebi vendor for '50. At 7 pm, as gas formed inside the tin, it exploded and that resulted in minor injuries to two people. The chemicals also got scattered in the area,” said a senior official of Rachakonda commissionerate.

The next day, the residues of the solvents, which got scattered in the area, were not cleaned up. One local, P. Yadaiah, accidentally stepped on it, and it resulted in another minor blast.

During the investigation police found that Nandagopal was manufacturing the organic solvent without any license from the authorities  

The police booked a case against the suspect under Section 285 (Negligent conduct regarding fire or combustible matter) and 337 (Causing injury by an act endangering the life or safety of others).