SIT formed to probe Petlawad explosion

A Special Investigative Team has been formed to probe the Petlawad explosion that left 89 people dead and nearly 100 injured, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said.
"An SIT has been constituted to probe the Petlawad incident," Chouhan told reporters yesterday.
The chief minister also asserted that the main accused in the massive tragedy, Rajendra Kasawa, will be tracked down and arrested soon.
The SIT will be headed by Additional SP, Seema Alawa and will comprise Town Inspectors Karan Singh Sakhtawat, Aishvarya Shastri, Ram Chandra Bhaskare along with Sub Inspectors Ram Charan Patil and Ashutosh Mithas and Assistant Sub Inspector (ASI) Anita Tomar, Jhabua District Superintendent of Police (SP), GG Pandey, told PTI today.

Chouhan, who visited Petlawad twice yesterday, has announced a slew of relief measures for those who have lost their kin in the explosion.
The chief minister has visited a total of 17 villages to express solidarity with those who lost their near and dear ones in the blast on Saturday in mining explosives which were stored in a building located in a crowded area of Petlawad town in Jhabua district.

The blast completely destroyed at least two buildings -- the one in which the explosive material for digging wells was stored, and an adjacent restaurant -- besides damaging several houses.

The explosion occurred in Kasawa's building with the accused said to possess a licence for use of explosive material in the digging of wells.
According to police, he had stored the explosive material, including gelatin sticks in huge quantity, in the residential building which also housed two shops and was situated close to the busy Sethia Restaurant in the new bus stand area.
Police yesterday seized 69 detonators and large number of gelatin sticks from the Mahavir Colony residence of Narendra Kasawa, the brother of the main accused.
Both Rajendra and Narendra along with his family members have been absconding since the day of the incident.