Overview

• Police identified the deceased as 15-year-old S. Tanush Rao, with the explosion occurring around 6 p.m. in Doddaballapur as the procession headed to a lake for immersion.
• Initial reports listed six injured, including forklift driver Muniraju and constable Zakir Hussain, while district authorities later said nine people were hurt, including two children.
• Investigators said a box of crackers kept behind the driver’s seat likely ignited after the vehicle moved for over two hours, and officials also noted the box was near the silencer, with the exact trigger still under probe.
• Doddaballapura police arrested four members of the organising committee—Chandra Kumar, Maruthi, Kishore, and Manjunath—booking them for culpable homicide not amounting to murder and under the Explosive Substances Act.
• Authorities cautioned against using forklifts for processions and banned crackers during Ganesha events and public gatherings across Bengaluru Rural district.