BERHAMPUR: Six minor boys were injured in a firecracker explosion in the Nuasahi area of Mankipur village within Khallikote police limits on Saturday, ahead of Diwali.
Sources said, the explosion took place while the boys were preparing firecrackers inside an isolated house of the village. Under impact of the blast, the asbestos roof of the house was blown away, and large cracks appeared on two walls.
Villagers rushed to the spot after hearing the loud noise and informed the police. Police along with firefighters reached the spot, rescued the injured and rushed them to a nearby hospital for treatment. Later, four of the boys were shifted to MKCG Medical College and hospital at Berhampur after their condition deteriorated. Police along with scientific team and bomb squad have begun a probe into the matter.
In a separate incident, unidentified bike-borne miscreants hurled three country-made bombs at a tile shop at Keshpur chowk under the same police station on Friday night.
The shop is owned by the family of Dilip Pahan, a local BJP leader who was murdered just before the elections.