Locals still shocked by Monday’s loud blast at cashew plantation
The main accused in the blast at a cashew plantation in Ansolem-Bhironda in Sattari has been remanded to five days in police custody, even as people in the area are still shaken by the incident which has damaged a number of houses in the vicinity. As Valpoi was celebrating the Shigmotsav, a blast in a cashew plantation at Ansolem at about 7.50 pm on Monday was such that windowpanes were shattered, roof shades were cracked, and walls also developed cracks in houses at Bhironda, Savarshe, Ansolem, Nanus, Advai and Khadki villages.
INVESTIGATIONS
Nasir Hussain Jamadar was arrested under sections 436, 427 and 286 IPC and was presented before the Valpoi Judicial Magistrate First Class and later remanded to five days in police custody. North Goa Police Superintendent Akshat Kaushal IPS, Bicholim DySP Sagar Ekoskar, Valpoi PI Rahul Naik visited the site to take stock of investigations into the incident. A forensic team also visited the site to investigate the cause behind the blast. Though the cause of the blast is unclear for now, police have suspected that heat in the area may have caused the gelatine sticks to explode. The police is expected to submit its report in the next few days. The police has cordoned off the area where the blast occurred and soil samples around the blast area have also been collected and sent for tests. According to sources, the accused, Nasir Hussain Jamadar, has a cashew plantation at Ansolem in Bhironda panchayat. There is a well and some gelatine sticks were buried in the soil near the well. There was a blast and one portion of the compound wall collapsed in the property. The concrete on the upper side of the well also was damaged, indicating the impact of the blast.
LOCALS STILL SHAKEN
As the blast occurred during the Shigmotsava celebration, people first thought the