Old Delhi firecracker blast: Shop owner held

The Delhi police has arrested the owner of the cracker shop in Sadar Bazar, whose employee got killed in the cracker blast in Naya Bazar area, from Meerut, the police said on Thursday.

The accused, identified as Mukhtar Ahmed (50), was absconding after Motalip Mirza, who was carrying two packets of crackers from Ahmed’s godown in Gali Zakaria Mohalla Fatak Hawas Khana to one of his shops had died when the crackers burst, the police said.

“He was absconding after the incident on Wednesday and was hiding in Meerut at his relatives’ place. He was arrested on Thursday from there,” said a senior police official.

Ahmed had switched off his mobile phone and was using a relative’s phone to communicate with people, said the officer. Ahmed owns three shops in Sadar Bazar area. He had made the bundles from his godown which contained the ring caps and had first asked one of his employees Anzarul to take them to his shop, but after Anzarul said he was busy, he asked Mirza to take them to one of his shops.

Mirza had died when the packets containing crackers had burst in the Naya Bazar area.