10-year-old boy killed in illegal LPG shop blast

A child died and his father sustained minor injuries in a blast which occurred in a shop filling liquified petroleum gas in cylinders in blatant violation of the government’s laws and regulations. The incident, which also reflects complete indifference of the district administration in clamping down this illegal trade, happened in Tando Yousuf, area of Hyderabad.

The explosion’s sound was heard even in distant areas. The location of the incident also happens to be near the railway crossing.

The deceased has been identified as 10-year-old Umar Hussain. His father Hussain, family members and neighbours later staged a sit-in demonstration outside the SSP office demanding arrest of the shop’s owner. The protesters dispersed after the police assured them of action.

The body was shifted to Liaquat University Hospital for postmortem. Later an FIR was registered on Hussain’s complaint nominating Kamran alias Kalu, Ilyas Qureshi and Zahid Rajput for the explosion. The suspects could not be arrested by the evening. According to the complainant, they are residents of Gujrati mohalla where they confront frequent gas outages and low pressure issues. He said they are often compelled to use the LPG to cook food in their home’s kitchen.