The death toll in a firecracker explosion during a religious procession in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district has climbed to three as a 17-year-old boy succumbed to injuries on Sunday. Firecrackers, being carried in a tractor trolley, exploded during the ‘nagar kirtan’ (religious procession) near Pahu village in Tarn Taran on Saturday, February 8.
“One more youth, identified as Gurkirat Singh, passed away in a hospital on Sunday,” Acting Deputy Superintendent of Police, Tarn Taran city, Parbesh Chopra, said. He said the condition of another injured boy was serious and he was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit.
Earlier on Saturday, two boys, aged 12 and 17 years, were killed and nine others injured in the firecracker explosion. On Saturday, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh ordered a magisterial probe into the incident and also announced an ex-gratia grant of ₹5 lakh for the kin of the deceased and free treatment to the injured, admitted in the local civil hospital and Guru Nanak Dev Charitable Hospital.
The explosion took place when some youngsters were bursting crackers as part of celebratory fireworks near Daleke Mor, Palasaur. “As they were doing so, the sparks fell on the tractor trolley, which was carrying explosive material — potash and sulphur and firecrackers — that led to an explosion,” a police official said.
The religious procession was going from Gurdwara Baba Deep Singh in Pahuwind village to Gurdwara Tahli Sahib in Chattiwind. The SDM’s inquiry would ascertain the full facts of the case and fix responsibility and ensure justice for the victims, a government statement said.
