BHOPAL/PETLAWAD: Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan may have announced a bounty of Rs 1 lakh on key accused of Petlawad blasts, Rajendra Kaswa, but residents believe he was blown to pieces in the explosion and his charred remains may be trapped under debris.

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“The second powerful blast happened within a span of five minutes. After the first explosion, which was of low intensity, we saw Rajendra Kaswa opening the shutters of his godown. It was unmistakeably him,” says Milind Mehta, a resident of Petlwad and an old friend of Kaswa. “There is no trace of his family after that incident. I have no information about them. Police say they are on the run,” Mehta said.

A senior police official investigating the blast told TOI that “Kaswa’s mobile surveillance shows his last location as Petlawad. This means he may still be in the town or died in the blast.”

Speaking to TOI, another eyewitness, Shekhar, said, “Kaswa rushed to his godown after the first bang. He seemed worried if his godown is safe. And within minutes, the second explosion happened. He may have been burnt to ashes in the blast.”

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Meanwhile, the body of a 16-year-old boy has been reported missing by his family. Asaram, 16, resident of Barvet village was selling vegetables at Petlawad bus stand on Saturday morning when simultaneous blasts at Kaswa’s illegal depot of explosives ripped through an adjoining building killing him on the spot.

His father Ramprasad told police he had received picture of his son’s body at blast site on WhatsApp through a friend and it was recognisable.

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“By the time they reached the spot from their village, 20 km away, there was nobody on the spot. They enquired at in Petlawad, Jhabua , Dhar and Ratlam, but to no avail,” said Harish, his father’s friend.

A few bodies were charred beyond recognition. Some of them were later identified with tattoos in their hand and finger rings.