The tragedy happened overnight in Yakubpur village in Auraiyya district. The explosion was so deadly that it destroyed a series of houses
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Police said the rescue operation went on till early Tuesday and said eight of the injured were in critical condition.u00a0
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"The seriously injured have been rushed to Kanpur," an official told IANS.
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Superintendent of Police (Auraiyya) Sanjay Kakkar told IANS that three constables and a police officer had been suspended for derelection of duty.u00a0
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Maiku Lal, owner of the cracker manufacturing unit, held a license but he had started producing the crackers from his house, some 250 yards from his unit, Kakkar said.
