KANPUR, Oct. 10 -- Police have ruled out any terror angle in the powerful explosion that rocked the congested Bisat Khana market area on Meston Road in Kanpur on Wednesday evening, attributing the incident to the illegal stocking of firecrackers. In a crackdown, police dismantled the shutters of multiple shops through Wednesday night and Thursday, recovering nearly seven quintals of firecrackers stored unlawfully near the blast site, officials said. Describing the incident as a "local and preventable lapse", commissioner of police Raghubir Lal took swift disciplinary action. Kotwali ACP Ashutosh Kumar was relieved of his post, while six police personnel, including Moolganj SHO Vikram Singh, were suspended with immediate effect. Others suspended included sub-inspector Rohit Tomar, head constable Imam-ul-Haq, and constables Brahmanand, Chetan Kumar and Amit Kumar. The blast, which occurred around 7:30pm on Wednesday, was initially believed to have originated from a scooter parked outside a row of shops. However, CCTV footage recovered from multiple angles has since shown that the explosion took place inside a cardboard box stored within one of the shops, directly pointing to illegal firecracker storage as the cause, officials confirmed. "This is a local incident. The claim of responsibility made in the name of the so-called 'Khalistan Zindabad Force' is entirely baseless. The explosion occurred due to the illegal stocking of firecrackers. We have decided to launch a city-wide crackdown against such activities, especially in commercial areas where public safety is at risk," Raghubir Lal said. The Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS), called in from Lucknow as a precautionary measure, revisited the site on Thursday to continue its forensic examination. Senior officials confirmed that no trace of high-grade explosives had been found so far. The explosion had a massive impact radius, with the sound heard up to 1.5 km. Eight people were injured in the incident, four of them critically. They were referred to King George's Medical University (KGMU) in Lucknow for advanced treatment. Two scooters damaged at the site are central to the ongoing probe. One belonged to Ashwani, a local hosiery shop owner who was in the market to collect goods, police said, adding the other, registered in the name of Brijendra Rastogi of Govind Nagar, had been reported stolen in March 2023. Mayor Pramila Pandey promised a transparent and accountable investigation. By early Thursday, police had taken 12 individuals, including local shopkeepers and associates, into custody for questioning. Officials said more arrests could follow....