SRINAGAR: At least 10 people were on Thursday injured in a grenade explosion near a mosque inin Jammu and Kashmir’s Shopian district.
A police officer said the powerful blast occurred near Jamia Masjid at Trenz village in the early hours.
“The blast took place when people were returning to their homes after offering morning prayers at the mosque. About 10 people sustained splinter injuries in the explosion and were rushed to a nearby hospital,” he said.
Four of the injured were referred to the city-based hospitals for specialised treatment.
According to the preliminary investigation, it was found that the grenade, encased in a steel glass-like material had been lying outside the mosque.
“As people came out of the mosque after offering prayers, some of them due to curiosity fiddled with it. The grenade then went off injuring 10 people in the process,” he said.
He said immediately after the blast, police and paramilitary personnel rushed to the spot to take stock of the situation.The officer said investigations were on to ascertain who had placed the grenade outside the mosque and what their motive was. “We have taken the incident seriously and launched investigations,” he said.
The police said a live grenade was also recovered from the premises of the house of a Hizbul Mujahideen militant Wasim Malla at Pehlipora Shopian, located a few kilometres from the mosque.
“The bomb disposal squad has defused the grenade,” a police officer said.