Schools panic as pupils bring miniature hand grenades

Miniature hand grenades that explode when thrown on the ground have rattled several private schools in Bengaluru after students as young as five were found bringing them to the classroom out of sheer curiosity.

It all started last Friday when a small explosion during the lunch break in a private school got teachers
suspicious.

A meeting of private school representatives later revealed that the issue wasn’t confined to one institution.

The meeting resolved to curb the practice.

Vigilant teachers at several schools have been screening students’ bags ever since.

Natesh Kumar, vice principal, Gurukul International School, said the incident had been happening for the past three days.

“During the lunch break, when teachers are not around, students use these grenades. One has to just throw them on the ground and there is a minor explosion.

Children even throw them at each other just to see what it is like,” he said.

The management has now sent a memo to students and parents, warning them against bringing the grenades to the school.

But the problem may not be entirely solved. The grenades are cheap and easily available. Children can buy them without the knowledge of their parents.

“Students get about 100 in a pack which costs just Rs 10. It’s easily available in all departmental stores and is sold to children,” said Shahi Kumar D, the general secretary of the Karnataka Association for Management of Private Schools (KAMS).

Blossom Public School had reported a similar incident, Kumar said and suggested that the grenades be considered crackers and not be sold to children unless they are accompanied by adults.