The blast at the explosives manufacturing factory near Nagpur upended Neelkanthrao Sahare’s world. With a dazed look on his face, he paced nervously back and forth outside the factory gate with an unsteady gait.

Sahare’s daughter Aarti (22) was among the nine people who were killed in the blast that took place on Sunday morning at the Solar Industries in Bazaargaon area, about 35 km from here. She was his family’s only earning member.

Aarti supported Sahare, who walks with a limp due to a paralytic attack in the past, her speech-impaired mother and a younger sister.

Sahare said he had been waiting outside the factory gate since 9.30 am to see his deceased daughter. The distraught father said, “I don’t want anything, just hand over my daughter’s body.” The bodies of the workers killed in the blast were still inside the premises, according to sources.

A number of ambulances were stationed at the entrance gate of the Solar Industries factory.

A tense situation prevailed as locals and family members of the victims gheraoed the unit's entrance, demanding that they be allowed to enter the factory premises, where the blast left nine people dead and injured three others.

Thirty-two-year-old Rumita Uikey, a mother of two, also lost her life in the industrial accident.

Her father Devidas Irpati, who was waiting outside the production facility, said he learnt about the accident through others.

Rumita, who lived at Khairi near the explosives manufacturing unit, was supposed to visit her paternal home at Dhamangaon on Sunday.

Devidas said Rumita has two sons and her husband works as a farm labourer.

Looking lost, Devidas said, “We have no idea when they will hand over Rumita’s body to us. We are waiting here for that.” Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in a post on X termed the incident as unfortunate and condoled the deaths.

The state government will provide an ex gratia of Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has approved the decision, he said.

Fadnavis said nine people, including six women, died in the blast at Solar Industries.

It is a company that manufactures drones and explosives for the armed forces, he said.

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