By IANS,
Lucknow: Agitated over the death of a 10-year-old child in a fire that broke out Friday in a busy cracker market in Uttar Pradesh’s Bulandshahr district, local residents went berserk and fought a pitched battle with the police.
The mob also blocked the Delhi-Badaun National Highway and targeted a number of public vehicles on the busy route.
Police had to use force when the protesters tried to set ablaze buses and trucks in the Shikarpur area in Bulandshahr, some 350 km from Lucknow, where the accident took place.
While the police and the district administration said only the child died in the incident, there were reports of four deaths.
“We have learnt that only a 10-year-old boy was charred to death in the incident, in which nearly 40 cracker shops were gutted, while 10 other people suffered burn injuries,” Additional Superintendent of Police Babu Ram told IANS over telephone.
“All those with injuries are being treated in a government hospital. All of them are out of danger,” he added.
According to police, the exact cause behind the fire is yet to be ascertained, but it appears the fire could be a result of an electrical short circuiting.
“We are investigating into the matter. Taking into account the wild protests carried out by the locals, additional force has been deployed in the district,” the police officer said.