Overview

• Police identified the deceased as S. Tanush Rao, who was seated near a box of fireworks on a moving forklift during an immersion procession in Muttur village, Doddaballapur, around 6 p.m.
• Multiple people were injured, including forklift driver Muniraju and constable Zakir Hussain, with victims reported to have been walking or dancing near the vehicle when the crackers ignited.
• Doddaballapura police arrested four organising-committee members — Chandra Kumar, Maruthi, Kishore and Manjunath — and booked them for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and under the Explosive Substances Act, 1908.
• Deputy Commissioner A. B. Basavaraju ordered a Bengaluru Rural district-wide prohibition on crackers or explosive substances during installation and immersion processions and public religious or political events.
• Investigators are examining whether heat from prolonged vehicle operation or sparks from the forklift’s silencer ignited the multi-shot cracker box, with officials also flagging the unsafe trend of using industrial forklifts in crowded processions.