Two children among five dead in Firozabad factory explosion, 11 hospitalised
Firozabad (UP) (PTI): Five persons, including two children and a woman, were killed due to an explosion at a firecracker godown-cum-factory in Uttar Pradesh's Firozabad district that caused damage to nearby houses, a police official said on Tuesday.
Eleven persons sustained injuries in the blast, which happened in the factory located in the Naushera area under Shikohabad police station limits on Monday night, they said.
Local residents also said that around one dozen houses were damaged due to the blast, and roofs of some of the houses have also been damaged.
"Five persons including two children were killed in the explosion, which had taken place in a firecracker godown-cum-factory. Eleven persons were injured in the incident," Circle Officer Shikohabad Praveen Tiwari told PTI.
According to local residents, around 10.30 pm, there was a sudden blast in the firecracker godown due to which the walls of the building collapsed and about seven people got buried under the debris.
Meera Devi (45), Aman Kushwaha (17), Gautam Kushwaha (16) and Kumari Ichha (4) and Abhinaye (2) died in the incident. The two kids are siblings, the officer said, adding that they were identified based on information obtained from the district hospital.
The bodies of the deceased were handed over to their kin after post-mortem, officials said.
Family members of the deceased, initially said that they will not carry out the last rites until the government gives them money to rebuild the houses.
However, the families agreed to holding the funerals after speaking to District Magistrate Ramesh Ranjan and SSP Saurabh Dixit, who visited the the spot, Tiwari said.
The process of convincing the family members is underway, he said.
Shikohabad's MLA Mukesh Verma, who was also present on the spot, said that the DM spoke to the Chief Minister's Office regarding compensation. He got an assurance that Rs 4 lakhs will be given to the kin of each deceased, after which the family agreed to perform the last rites, Verma said.
The MLA also said that he has requested the DM to arrange a 100-yard plot for those whose homes have been destroyed in the blast.
The state government said that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has taken cognisance of the accident.
The chief minister has directed the district administration officials to provide proper treatment to the injured, and issued instructions to district administration officials to expedite relief work, it said.
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Bangladesh High Court refuses to ban ISKCON
Dhaka, Nov 28: Bangladesh High Court Thursday rejected a petition seeking a ban on ISKCON's activities in the country, days after a lawyer was killed in a clash between security personnel and supporters of a Hindu leader, previously linked to the religious group.
A lawyer had sought a ban on the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) after placing some newspaper reports related to the organisation on Wednesday.
"The two-member High Court bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Debashish Roy Chowdhury on Thursday declined to ban the ISKCON activities in Bangladesh," a spokesman of the attorney general's office said.
He said the bench made the decision after the attorney general's office submitted a report on the action taken by the government regarding the death of assistant government prosecutor Saiful Islam Alif in the northeastern port city of Chattogram earlier this week.
Hindu leader Chinmoy Krishna Das Brahmachary, arrested earlier this week, was sent to jail by a Chattogram court on sedition charges, sparking a violent protest during which advocate Alif was killed. Chinmoy was earlier expelled from ISKCON.
"Right at this moment, the situation does not warrant the intervention of the (High) court as the State is carrying out its job (regarding the matter),” Justice Mahbub was quoted as saying by the spokesman.
The decision came a day after Attorney-General Mohammad Asaduzzaman urged the court not to take any decisions on the ISKCON issue as the government has started taking the required action.
Additional Attorney General Aneek R Haque and Deputy Attorney General Asad Uddin informed the bench that three separate cases have been filed in connection with the murder of the lawyer and ISKCON's activities, and 33 accused have been arrested in these cases.
The bench then hoped that the government would remain cautious about protecting the law and order situation and the lives and properties of the people of Bangladesh.
Meanwhile, ISKCON Bangladesh refuted allegations linking the organisation to the lawyer's killing, saying the claims were baseless and part of a malicious campaign.
"A series of false, fabricated, and malicious campaigns is being spearheaded targeting ISKCON Bangladesh, particularly in connection with recent events. These efforts are aimed at discrediting our organisation and creating societal unrest," general secretary of the organization Charu Chandra Das Brahmachari said.
Speaking at a press conference at the organisation’s head office, he said ISKCON Bangladesh was never involved in "communal or conflict-driven activities and will continue to promote unity and harmony".
"We have already clarified the matter multiple times through press conferences and official communications with the government and administrative authorities. Regrettably, certain groups continue to deliberately spread false propaganda against our organisation and make unreasonable demands, such as banning ISKCON," Das said.
He said that Chinmoy was previously expelled from the organisation along with two others for violating its rules and none of their activities were connected to ISKCON.
ISKCON Bangladesh President Satya Ranjan Baroi also spoke at the press conference, saying their organisation was dedicated to communal harmony, religious tolerance, and the welfare of humanity and “the allegations are an attempt to tarnish our religious and social reputation".
Jatiyatabadi Ainjibi Forum on Thursday staged a protest in front of the Supreme Court Bar, protesting the lawyer's killing and demanding the ban on ISKCON.
The group is regarded as the lawyers’ wing of ex-premier Khaleda Zia’s Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP).
Leaders of the Anti-Discrimination Students Movement, which led the mass upheaval to oust deposed prime minister Sheikh Hasina’s regime on August 5, also demanded the ban on ISKCON.
Separately, a group of Supreme Court lawyers sent a legal notice to the Bangladesh government on Wednesday seeking the ban on ISKCON describing it as a “radical organisation.”
India on Tuesday noted with “deep concern” Chinmoy's arrest and denial of bail and urged Dhaka to ensure the safety and security of Hindus and all other minority groups.
Earlier, the ISKCON had urged the Bangladesh authorities to promote "peaceful coexistence" for Hindus in the country as it "strongly" denounced the arrest of the Hindu leader.
Chinmoy, the spokesperson for Bangladesh Sammilita Sanatani Jagran Jote, was arrested from Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport on Monday as he was about to fly to Chattogram to join a rally.
He was denied bail and sent to jail by the Chattogram’s Sixth Metropolitan Magistrate court in a sedition case on Tuesday.
