A seven-year-old boy was killed in a crude bomb blast in Burdwan city in West Bengal on Monday, news agency PTI reported. Another child was injured in the incident, which took place at around 11 AM in Burdwan's Subhaspally area.
Burdwan’s inspector-in-charge Pintu Saha told PTI that Sheikh Afroz (7) and Sheikh Ibrahim (9) were playing near their house when they hit a packet in which the crude bombs were kept, triggering the blast.
The locals, who rushed to the spot after hearing the explosion, took the two boys to the nearby hospital. The doctors declared Sheikh Afroz dead on arrival and admitted Ibrahim for treatment, the report said.
The bomb squad has been informed about the incident and an investigation has been initiated, Saha told the news agency.
The blast triggered tension in the area ahead of the elections.
Afroz’s uncle Sheikh Feroz told PTI that children of the locality play in that spot every morning but only two of them were out today.