Five persons died and four others were injured when a cracker factory in a Bijnor village caught fire on Thursday, police said.
The owner of the factory has been arrested.
Dharamveer Singh, Superintendent of Police, Bijnor, said a small unit of crackers being run in a corner of Bakshiwala village of the district caught fire. “Nine persons were working in the house. Five of them got trapped while the four others jumped out of the building. Mohd Yusuf, the owner of the unit, has been arrested.”
The deceased, the SP said, belonged to the neighbouring Bukhara village.
Locals said the house was also used as a godown to store crackers.
An inquiry has been ordered by the District Magistrate Ramakant Pandey into the causes of the fire and possible lapses.
‘Unit had valid licence’
Mr Pandey told reporters that the factory had a valid licence.
Expressing grief to the families of the deceased, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath took notice of the incident and has sought a joint report from the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police of Bijnor.
