Key Jhabua explosion accused died in the same blast: Police

Rajendra Kasawa – the main accused in the September 12 explosion at Petlawad town, in which 89 people were killed – died in the same blast, police said on Monday, ending weeks of suspense about his whereabouts. The police had launched a massive manhunt for Kasawa, a stockist who had illegally stored mining explosives that detonated, after the blast and also announced a reward of Rs 1 lakh for information leading to his arrest. “We had sent some unclaimed bodies from the blast site to the Forensic Science Laboratory in Sagar district. One of the DNA profilings has matched with Kasawa’s son Shumbhan and his brother Phoolchand. Parts of these bodies were kept in a morgue in a hospital and sent for DNA profiling on November 2. The DNA matching report came on Monday,” a top police official said.