A powerful blast inside a house at Thillankery under the Iritty Police Station limits here on Sunday ripped off the house and left a youth seriously injured, raising suspicion that the explosion could have occurred while handling country-made bombs.
The police said that the people in the locality head a huge sound of explosion at around 10 a.m. The house where the explosion took place was at Iyyambode near Thillankery which is a politically sensitive area in the district. A youth identified as Roshith (22), who the police described as a worker of the Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), sustained serious burn injuries in the blast. After preliminary treatment in a hospital here, he has been rushed to a hospital in Mangalore, the police said.
The police said that the youth suffered serious injuries in his left hand. He also sustained burn injuries in his legs and face, the police said. The house with tiled roof, where he was staying with his parents, was completely damaged in the explosion. Both his parents were not at home when the explosion occurred.
District Superintendent of Police Rahul R. Nair rushed to the area after the bomb explosion. Police personnel led by three Circle Inspectors conducted extensive raids in and around the vicinity in search of explosive materials in the area.
When contacted, the district police chief told The Hindu that the preliminary inference of the police was that some explosive material kept at the house went off. It had to be confirmed by scientific report whether it was caused by gun powder or country-made bombs, he said. He also said that an iron shelf in the house was completely shattered in the blast, an indication that the explosive material was kept inside the shelf. The shelf was left coated with gun powder after the blast, he added.
The district in the past had witnessed similar blasts that left people dead or maimed with serious burn injuries in their hands and face.
According to the police, such blasts often occurred while making or handling country-made bombs.