One killed, another injured in firecracker blast in Greater Noida

GREATER NOIDA: A 26-year-old man died while one other was grievously injured after an e-rickshaw carrying firecrackers exploded during Jagannath Shobha Yatra in Dadri in Greater Noida on Monday evening.
Two daily wage labourers, Salman, 26, a resident of Dadri, and Pappu, 30, a resident of Jarcha, were hired by the organisers of the procession to carry the firecrackers.
Salman was bursting the firecrackers while Pappu was driving the e-rickshaw.
A local resident said that the Yatra was organised from Parchin Mandir in Ayodhya Ganj for Agarwal Mitra Mandal in Dadri on GT Road in the evening when the incident took place.
Ashok Kumar, additional deputy commissioner of police, said a Jagannath Shobha Yatra was taking place in Dadri on Monday at 5.30 pm. “Firecrackers were being burst during the procession. Salman and Pappu were with the e-rickshaw. A firecracker landed on the e-rickshaw carrying the crackers and soon it went into flames. The two men were critically injured as they were near the firecrackers,” he said.
Water cannons were pressed into service to douse the flames. The police teams also diverted the traffic.
Salman and Pappu were taken to a private hospital. Later, Salman’s condition deteriorated and he was referred to Safdarjung Hospital in Delhi where he died. Pappu is undergoing treatment at the hospital. Police said no other damage was reported in the incident.
Police said the organisers of the event had taken permission to carry out the procession. However, permission for bursting firecrackers was not granted. “We have not received a complaint from the victim’s family yet. The body was handed over to his family members after a post-mortem,” said a police officer.