Seven kids hurt in crude bomb blast at Urdu school in Patna

The explosion occurred when one of the children hit a ball-like object on the roof of an under-construction building on the campus of the government-run school in Patna City.

Seven students of a state government-run Urdu middle school in Patna City suffered injuries ranging from minor to serious, on Saturday morning, when a low intensity bomb blast was triggered off on the school premises, 500 metres from Khajekalan police station in eastern Patna.

One of the children hurt in an explosion on the campus of a Patna City school, at a local hospital.(HT photo)

The explosion occurred on the roof of an under construction building of the Urdu School around 11 am, when a boy, in a group of seven, hit a ball type object they had found in the building. The boys suffered splinter injuries from what is suspected to be an improvised ‘desi’ bomb.

Police said injuries to four students, identified as Mohammad Faizan 10, Mohammad Arman 9, Mohammad Adil, 7, and Mohammad Jishan, 8, were serious. Three others sustained minor injuries. All the injured were rushed to nearby Guru Govind Singh hospital for treatment.

The boys claimed to have found the ball on the stairs. “There was a huge sound in the classroom and the teachers panicked and called the police,” a teacher at the school told HT.

News of the ‘bomb explosion’ went viral in the social media, leading to panic among the parents. Soon, a large number of parents gathered at the entrance of the school. Some parents even scaled the school boundary wall to fetch their children.

They alleged that the school grounds turned into a den of gamblers and anti-social elements at night. “Miscreants from other areas also gather on the premises after dusk and despite numerous complaints to the police, there has been no action”, claimed Hena Qaiser, a parent.

The explosion brought a Patna Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) and a bomb detection and disposal squad, to the spot.

Police suspect anti-social elements may have been hidden the explosive in the under construction building. On getting information, Patna city deputy superintendent of police Harimohan Shukla reached the spot. He said the injured students were out of danger.

Patna SSP Manu Maharaaj said, prima-facie, it appeared anti-social elements may have ‘forgotten’ the improvised device on the spot. Police had taken cognizance of the incident, collected samples and sent them for forensic opinion, he said.

The police have registered a case against unidentified persons, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Explosives Substances Act and begun investigations.