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Kannur: A powerful explosion that took place at a rented house in Keezhara, Kannapuram in Kannur around 2 am killed one person and reducing the housing structure to rubble. Police suspect the blast occurred during the making of country bombs.
The after effects of the blast ruptured nearby houses, breaking doors and leaving cracks in walls. Police have booked Anup Malik, who rented the house, under the Explosives Act.
The victim, believed to be a migrant worker, died instantly, with body parts scattered across the site. Two people reportedly lived in the house, owned by a retired school teacher named Keezhara Govindan. They were said to be running a spare parts shop in Payyannur.
During the search, officers discovered several unexploded country-made bombs, prompting a bomb squad inspection. This finding strengthened suspicions that the blast was triggered during bomb-making.
Anup Malik, known for supplying firecrackers in bulk for festivals, is also an accused in the 2016 Podikund blast case in Kannur. Police believe the deceased was working for him.
Vidya P, another panchayat member, who lived 500 metres away on the other side of the hill, said her windowpanes rattled and her 24-year-old son heard a loud sound. "He thought it was a thunderclap," she said.
Vinodkumar, who lives barely 20 metres away, called in the police. The blast shattered his window panes, flung iron grills onto his house, and destroyed the tiled roof. "When I stepped out, the house was gone," he said.
The house belonged to Govindan, a retired teacher of North Kannapuram Government LP School. He and his family had lived in the house for many years before moving out, said Vidya. Initially, he rented the house to families, but one and a half years ago, he rented it to Anoop Malik, a bodybuilder in the neighborhood, said Damodaran, a former panchayat member and neighbor. "He was earlier involved in bomb making, and so police picked him up immediately after the blast," he said.
