A 12-year-old boy died in an explosion that occurred near a garbage dump at Haridwar district’s Roorkee town, on Saturday afternoon.
“Tushar Dhiman was returning home from his school in the afternoon with two other children when, on his way, he picked up an object from a garbage dump at Nehru Nagar area in Roorkee. Our sources said the explosion occurred when Tushar started playing with the object,” Additional Director-General of Police (law and order) Ram Singh Meena said.
The intensity of the explosion was low, so, two other children [with Tushar] were not injured. However, Tushar died and he had visible injuries in his neck and head, he said.
“Experts are trying to find the type of explosive, and [our teams] are trying to find the source of the explosive,” Mr. Meena said.
Incidentally, the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) was holding a meeting to celebrate the ‘Shaurya Diwas’ — the anniversary of Babri Masjid demolition — near the explosion site.
Mr. Meena, however, said that based on the preliminary enquiry there seemed to be no conspiracy angle the explosion.
A high alert was declared in Roorkee and other “sensitive areas” in Haridwar district to check possible reactions to the incident, Mr. Meena said.
