Explosion of chemical container at the house of RR Nagar MLA

BENGALURU: On Sunday morning, in Vyalikaval near Sadashivanagar, the 45-year-old aide of RR Nagar MLA N Munirathna was killed on the spot after a chemical container he was carrying exploded.

Venkatesh Kumar, a washerman residing at 10th Cross, Vyalikaval, was seen walking towards JP Park in Mathikere when the explosion happened in front of the house of the MLA at 9:30AM. Police have suspected the box to be containing methyl ethyl ketone peroxide, a highly explosive industry chemical and which is used for the construction of statutes.

"He was heading towards JP Park which is 4km away. Suddenly, the explosion took place and he died instantly," cops said.

Police commissioner T Suneel Kumar told a source, "Preliminary investigation revealed that it was a chemical blast. It's an accidental blast; there was no sabotage. We're awaiting report from FSL for confirmation," he said.

DCP (Central) D Devaraj said, "Some works like installation and modification of statues are going on at JP Park. We suspect that Venkatesh was carrying a container with the chemical used for the purpose," he said.

Angry neighbours hit out at MLA for reckless storage of deadly chemical. Residents were shocked to hear the accident had claimed the life of Venkatesh Kumar, their neighbourhood washerman.

"The explosion could have killed anyone on the road. Why did the MLA not follow precautionary measures while storing such chemicals? Is it not his gross apathy? Police would have arrested any common man if he/she was in place of Munirathna," they said.

A resident said there were 20 such chemical containers at the office of the MLA. "They were used for making statues at JP Nagar Park. One container was remaining and Venkatesh was carrying it," he said.

MLA Munirathna said he's shocked by the death of his childhood friend, Venkatesh Kumar. "My father and Venkatesh's father were good friends, and so were we. It's my responsibility to look after the financial needs of his family. I returned home late last night and was asleep when the explosion took place. We alerted cops on hearing the noise. I rushed out and saw Venkatesh dead. I will cooperate with cops for investigation," he said.

Experts from the forensic science laboratory and doctors have said that, Venkatesh should have probably died within 20 seconds of the blast. "After recreating the scene, we concluded that Venkatesh had placed the container on the ground for some reason and bent down. He was talking over mobile phone and was in a half-bent position when the blast took place. There were more chemical traces on his upper body compared to other parts," they said.