Indian police are hunting a suspect who illegally placed explosives in a building in central India, killing more than 100 people.

SceneIndian restaurant explosion kills more than 100 people. Photo: AP

The suspect, Rajendra Kasawa, has been on the run with his brothers since yesterday, said Seema Alava, senior police officer of Jhabua district. He had illegally stored urea, gelatin sticks, detonators and other explosives used for well digging, construction and mining in the building’s warehouse.

Although Kasawa had a permit for the materials, Alava said he had left them “illegally in a residential area,” and was therefore guilty of murder and illegal possession of explosives. “We stayed up almost all night. We will find him, it is just a matter of time,” she said.

The blast in Petlaward town in Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh state occurred yesterday morning, when many office workers and students were having breakfast in a restaurant and many people were waiting at a bus stop near the two-storey building. At least 104 people were killed and more than 150 injured in the incident.

Police initially thought the gas tank first exploded, causing illegal explosives stored in the restaurant to also explode, further aggravating the accident, destroying surrounding buildings and vehicles.

"It's actually the other way around. The explosives in the building detonated first... the extreme heat caused a chemical reaction of the urea nitrate and that's it. Everything blew up after that," Alava said.

The blast was one of the worst in India in recent years. At a meeting with Madhya Pradesh state officials, local residents demanded better security, as previous complaints about Kasawa had been ignored by district officials. Many complained that irresponsible mine operators like Kasawa had left detonators and other explosives in residential areas, but officials rarely punished them.

An injured man cries after the explosion. He had a relative who died in the incident. Photo: AP

According to VNE