One arrested for Jan 7 explosion in Sadar Bazar area

Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi on Saturday said that they arrested a 19-year-old boy Faiz the January 7 explosion in north Delhi's Sadar Bazar area.

New Delhi:A 19-year-old youth was arrested in connection with the January 7 explosion in north Delhi's Sadar Bazar area in which a person was killed and four others were injured, police said on Saturday. The accused, identified as Mohammad Faiz, had given a bag of firecracker explosives to Gulab Madar to dispose them of. When Madar was carrying the bag, the explosion occurred, they said.

Five persons were injured in the incident and Madar succumbed during treatment. Faiz is a resident of Hapur in Uttar Pradesh, they said. On January 7, the police received information regarding a wall collapse at a building on Qutub Road, Sadar Bazar. After reaching the spot, it was found that the staircase and a side wall had fallen due to a blast, a senior police officer said.

Later, a case under various sections of the IPC and the Explosive Act was registered at the Sadar Bazar police station and an investigation was initiated. The spot was inspected by the FSL team, district crime team, fire department, DDMA and MCD, the officer said. During the investigation, police checked the CCTV footage of the area and found that the accused had handed over a plastic bag to Madar just before the incident, the officer said.

The blast had taken place in the bag on the staircase of the building where the accused has a godown on the first floor. Some traces of firecracker explosives were found at the site, they said. "Initially, the accused spread a rumour that the incident took place due to a blast in a water booster motor and escaped from the spot. Police raided his hideouts and nabbed him on Friday," Deputy Commissioner of Police (north) Sagar Singh Kalsi said.

Faiz disclosed that in the past, he used to deal in firecrackers during the festival season. On January 7, he was cleaning his godown for storage of Holi festival items. He gave the firecrackers and other materials to Madar for disposing of but did not tell him about the explosive substance kept in the bag, the DCP said.

Faiz has been arrested and the source of procuring of firecracker explosives is being traced, police said. The accused deals in festival items in Sadar Bazar. He had taken a godown on rent in the building at Qutub Road, Sadar Bazar, they said, adding that he was previously involved in a case of Explosive Act registered in 2021 at the Sadar Bazar police station. (PTI)