UP: Oxygen cylinder explodes; ailing woman, pregnant daughter among 6 of family dead
Bulandshahr (UP), Oct 22: An oxygen cylinder kept to aid in the care of an ailing woman exploded in a house in Bulandshahr's Sikandrabad area, killing her and five members of her family, including her husband and her three-year-old granddaughter.
The tragedy that snuffed out the lives of 45-year-old Rukhsana, who had recently been discharged from hospital, her husband Riyazuddin, their three children and granddaughter took place on Monday night. Their two-storey home, which housed 19 members of the family, collapsed partially due to the blast.
Rukhsana's daughter Tamannah who lost her life in the accident was nine-month pregnant, her husband Rizwan said.
Citing the postmortem report of the six deceased, Chief Medical Officer of Bulandshahr Dr Vinay Kumar Singh said one of the women was pregnant.
The last rites of the six deceased were held on Tuesday afternoon.
When the bodies were brought back home today after the postmortem, each covered in a shroud, cries of anguish filled the air as hundreds of people gathered outside the family residence in Ashapuri Colony to share their condolences.
District Magistrate of Bulandshahr Chandra Prakash Singh said, "A cylinder blast occurred in the Ashapuri colony of Sikandrabad between 8.30 pm and 9 pm leading to the collapse of the entire house."
Two or three others suffered injuries in the incident and the rest were safe, according to officials.
Riyazuddin (50), his wife Rukhsana (45), their sons Aas Mohammed (26), Salman (16), daughter Tamannah (24) and her child Hibza (3) died due to the blast.
"She (Tamannah) had asked me to take her back home after two days," Rizwan said. He spoke to her last around 5 pm, he said tearfully.
"Now, I'm left with the pain of losing my mother-in-law, father-in-law, brothers-in-law, wife and daughter all at once," Rizwan said.
Talking to PTI Videos, neighbours and first responders described the chaos that unfolded after the explosion.
Asif, who has lived next door for 18 years, said, "I heard a sound that felt like something had exploded. I ran outside and saw locals rushing to help. It was chaos, with people inside the house needing to be pulled out."
The explosion created a red flash, followed by darkness in the house. We had to use our mobile phone torches to navigate the thick dust while trying to rescue anyone trapped inside," another neighbour said.
NDRF officer Neeraj Singh, who oversaw the on-ground rescue and relief operations, said the relief work by local police and administration had already started at the site by the time his force reached.
Surface victims had been moved to safety when the NDRF arrived. The NDRF's operations lasted about three hours, Neeraj Singh said.
"We used methods of canine search, technical search, physical search, etc. as per our procedures to make sure no live victim was left behind in the rubble until the civil authorities called off the operations," Singh told PTI Videos.
Personnel of the NDRF, fire brigade, police, medical and the local administration were involved in the rescue work, Additional Director General of Police, Meerut Zone, Dhruva Kant Thakur said.
DM Singh said the iron beams of the roof of the house had to be pried open using gas cutters. An excavator was also used to clear the debris, he said.
Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took immediate cognisance of the incident and directed officials to visit the spot and ensure good treatment to the injured, the DM said.
Senior Superintendent of Police of Bulandshahr Shlok Kumar told PTI that the rescue operation was completed on Tuesday morning. The cylinder, its nozzle, etc. have been recovered from the debris, he said.
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Sanjay Raut demands re-election, alleges irregularities in EVMs during Maharashtra polls
Mumbai, Nov 25: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut on Monday demanded a re-election in Maharashtra using ballot papers, claiming there were irregularities with the electronic voting machines (EVMs).
Talking to reporters, Raut alleged several complaints about EVMs malfunctioning and questioned the integrity of the recently held elections.
The BJP-led Mahayuti won 230 out of 288 seats in the assembly elections, while the opposition Maha Vikas Aghadi managed 46 seats, with Shiv Sena (UBT) winning just 20 out of 95 seats it contested.
"We have received nearly 450 complaints regarding EVMs. Despite raising objections repeatedly, no action has been taken on these issues. How can we say these elections were conducted fairly? Hence, I demand that the results be set aside and elections be held again using ballot papers," Raut said.
Citing some instances, he said a candidate in Nashik reportedly received only four votes despite having 65 votes from his family, while in Dombivli, discrepancies were found in EVM tallies, and election officials refused to acknowledge the objections.
The Sena (UBT) leader also questioned the credibility of the landslide victories of some candidates, saying, "What revolutionary work have they done to receive more than 1.5 lakh votes? Even leaders who recently switched parties have become MLAs. This raises suspicions. For the first time, a senior leader like Sharad Pawar has expressed doubts about EVMs, which cannot be ignored."
Asked about the MVA's poor performance in the elections, Raut rejected the idea of blaming a single individual.
"We fought as a united MVA. Even a leader like Sharad Pawar, who commands immense respect in Maharashtra, faced defeat. This shows that we need to analyse the reasons behind the failure. One of the reasons is EVM irregularities and the misuse of the system, unconstitutional practices, and even judicial decisions left unresolved by Justice Chandrachud," he said.
Raut stressed that though internal differences might have existed within the MVA, the failure was collective.
He also accused the Mahayuti of conducting the elections in an unfair manner.
"I cannot call the elections fair given the numerous reports of discrepancies in EVMs, mismatched numbers, and vote irregularities across the state," Raut said.
