New Delhi: The NHRC has sent a notice to the Madhya Pradesh government and the state's police chief in the wake of a blast at a firecracker unit in Harda in which more than 10 people have died. The impact of the blast was felt several kilometres around the factory in the nearby areas. "Reportedly, a viral video showed victim's bodies scattered on the roads and in the fields," the National Human Rights Commission said in a statement.
The death toll in the blast reached 13 on Friday after an eight-year-old boy succumbed to injuries in a hospital in Bhopal, an official said. The massive blast and subsequent blaze on Tuesday levelled a firecracker unit, leaving 11 dead at the time and more than 200 injured. The NHRC said it has taken suo motu cognisance of a media report on the incident.
The Commission has observed that the content of the media report, if true, amount to violation of human rights. Accordingly, it has issued notices to the chief secretary and the Director General of Police of Madhya Pradesh, seeking a detailed report within four weeks, it said. "The report is expected to include the status of the FIR, updated information on health and medical treatment provided to the victims of the blast and their aggrieved families. The Commission would also like to know about the action against the erring and negligent officers and the steps taken to prevent recurrence of such incidents," it said.
According to the media report, carried on February 7, the factory had 32 halls which were packed with explosives, mostly sutli bombs. More than 200 people worked in the factory with 70 odd in the morning shift when the series of blasts occurred, the statement said. The factory has been under the scanner earlier also for "certain illegalities". It was ordered to be closed in 2022 and the owner was sentenced to 10 years of imprisonment in 2021 after the death of two workers in a blast which had taken place in 2015, inside the factory but he challenged the order, the rights panel said, quoting the report.
