Overview
- A blast tore through a scrap shop in Church Colony, Ramanthapur, causing a fast-moving fire that engulfed the premises.
- Firefighters arrived with two engines and brought the blaze under control at the scene.
- The shop owner, identified as Parashuram, was rushed to Gandhi Hospital with burns covering about 70 percent of his body and is in critical condition.
- Senior police officers and a bomb detection squad are examining the site to determine the cause, including whether a gas cylinder or other stored flammable material ignited when metal was being cut.
- Investigators will inspect workplace practices and stored items at the scrap shop to establish how routine metal-cutting could have triggered a larger explosion and what safety steps are needed to prevent similar accidents.