6 get 7 year of jail in Attur fireworks case

SALEM: A court in Attur in Salem district on Tuesday sentenced six people to seven years imprisonment in connection with a fireworks blast case.
The accused were identified as Arayee (65), Madeswaran (60), Thangammal (70), Janakiraman (69), Siddhan (60) and Prabhakaran (45) of Attur in Salem district.
The blast incident took place on September 16, 2002 when workers of an explosives unit stocked fireworks illegally in a house in Attur considering Diwali sales."When they stocking the bags, one of the bags accidently blasted following which all the fireworks which kept in the house exploded," Attur police said. They added that 17 people were killed in the blast. Explosive unit owner Selvam (48) also was killed in the incident and others include people living in nearby houses.
Initially, the police suspected that the incident took place due to cylinder blast. But, investigations revealed that Selvam and his family members had stocked the fireworks illegally as the crackers were banned by the State government.
The case was heard by judicial magistrate (JM) of Attur sub-court Malar Mathi. After heard both the sides arguments, granted seven years of imprisonment to all the six accused those who connected with Selvam and his business. "The JM also fined each of them 85,000," the police said and added that five others acquitted from the case as they did not has any connection with the case.