PUNE: A few crude bombs disposed in a garbage dump in Dighi proved fatal for a five-year-old girl early Saturday, after one of them exploded, also injuring two other children.
The Dighi police station, which filed an FIR under various sections of the Explosives Substances Act and the Bombay Police Act against "unknown persons" over the incident, said the girl was declared dead at a local hospital, before any treatment could be administered. The girl's family belong to a nomadic community from Rajasthan who had arrived at the site at Alankapuram in Dighi a number of hutment-like structures on a patch of government land a few months ago, the police said. They make their living by herding and rearing cows and supplying milk on a daily basis.
"It was a crude bomb and it was probably used by those who occupied the premises before the current occupants came in. Such bombs are generally used by locals and farmers to scare away pigs from farms, and the previous occupants threw the remaining ones in a garbage dump at the site," said Dilip Shinde, a senior inspector with the Dighi police station.
He added, "The girl who died picked up one of the bombs, probably thinking it was a toy, then dropped it on the ground and it exploded. She suffered grave injuries with the other two children around her also suffering injuries. The two injured children, both aged four, have been admitted to a local hospital for treatment."
Shinde said while they will investigate to find out the identities of those who left the bombs behind, tracing them would not be easy, as the previous occupants left months ago, with no one knowing where have they moved.
The FIR stated the girl's father had gone to Dighi and Bhosari to deliver milk when the incident occurred.
