New Delhi: Following the death of 18 people after a blast at an explosives manufacturing company in Maharashtra’s Nagpur district on Sunday (March 1), the state police have arrested nine directors of the company, reported Press Trust of India.The case has been registered by the Kalmeshwar police against 21 directors and shareholders of the SBL Energy Limited under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.Nine directors of the company have so far been arrested, the police officials said.Superintendent of police (Nagpur Rural) Dr Harssh Poddar said on Monday (March 2) that an initial report by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) and Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) pointed to safety lacunae at the company, reported PTI.The blast had resulted in the death of 18 workers while 24 others were injured – many of them sustained critical injuries – in a powerful blast at the detonator packing unit of SBL Energy Limited, which is a mining and industrial explosives manufacturer on Sunday morning.The police said that the arrested persons were being questioned and efforts are being made to track the remaining accused in the case.Such was the impact of the blast, that the bodies were charred beyond recognition, said the police. Samples from family members were being taken for DNA testing to ascertain the identities of the deceased.Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a detailed investigation into the cause of the explosion.