Two children were severely injured in a crude bomb explosion in north-eastern Kolkata near a railway station late on Saturday evening.
The police said the boys were rag-pickers who were rummaging through garbage when the crude bomb went off.
The cops added that the bomb exploded in a garbage dump next to platform number 2 of Dumdum railway station around 7 pm.
“Eleven-year-old Shafiq and 13-year-old Shahrukh were injured after the bomb, inside a small lunch box, exploded. It went off when they picked the box up,” said Railway Police Superintendent Debashis Bag.
The police reached the spot after railway authorities complained of a loud noise. Subsequently, when the bomb disposal squad was brought in, they found two more crude bombs inside a jute bag.
“The bombs were probably kept there for safe keeping by miscreants who planned to break into goods trains at night,” said a senior police officer.
Bag said the two injured boys were admitted to RG Kar Medical College Hospital, where they are undergoing treatment.
Both are said to be in a serious condition, with one of them having lost two of his fingers.
Railways authorities said there was no impact on train movements due to the blast.
DH News Service
Published 10 January 2015, 20:58 IST