‘Gift pack’ explodes in Meerut village, minor sisters injured

Two minor sisters sustained burns after a ‘gift pack’ they found outside their home on Friday evening exploded, said police. The incident took place in village

Two minor sisters sustained burns after a ‘gift pack’ they found outside their home on Friday evening exploded, said police. The incident took place in village Pilauna, under the limits of Phalawada police station, in Meerut district. Apart from local police, a team of anti-terrorist squad and the local intelligence unit also visited the crime scene.

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Police said that an FIR under section 325 (voluntarily causes grievous hurt) of the Indian Penal Code was registered in the matter and a villager, whom they did not identify, was detained for sometime for questioning.

The sisters, Nidhi, 14 and Radhika,11, sustained burn injuries on their hands and face and were admitted to a hospital for treatment, said cops.

According to SP( rural) Avinash Pandey, the preliminary investigation indicated the explosion to be the work of people who wanted to scare the girls. “The packet had two mobile phone batteries connected with a piece of wood that was soaked in kerosene. We are working on every possible angle to crack the case,” he said.

Police said the victims were the daughters of a labourer, Mahkar Singh, who lodged a complaint against unidentified people.

Hearing the sound of the blast, neighbours rushed to their house and took the girls to the hospital, he said.

“The matter was reported to the police and a team of forensic experts rushed to the spot to examine the evidence,” said the CO, who was also one of the officers to reach the scene of the incident.