India, Sept. 2 -- LUCKNOW Villagers in Behta stood stunned, watching their quiet green field turn into a scene of chaos and fear on Monday as police teams seized a large quantity of raw material for manufacturing crackers from four hidden storage points. Barely 10km from Gudamba police station and on the edge of Lucknow's municipal limits near the Barabanki border, Behta has long existed in a 'grey zone' where an old, family-run but dangerous trade flourished unnoticed.

Even people living a few feet away claim they knew nothing about it.

"We had no idea what was going on inside their house. We never got the slightest hint," said Zaid, a neighbour whose home suffered severe damage in the blast that rocked the village on Sunday morning. ...