COIMBATORE: A four-year-old girl in Mettupalayam was severely injured on Monday night after a cracker that was lit during a temple festival near their house went awry.
The flaming cracker went into the house and hit the child when she was asleep at around 11.30 pm. The girl has undergone surgery in a private hospital, said police.
The child's grandfather R Vellingiri (60) lodged a complaint with Mettupalayam police who booked a case under the IPC sections 286 and 337 on Tuesday afternoon.
The victim, identified as Vithurshana (4), daughter of Ayyappan and the suspect Senthilnathan (28), a farm labourer is from SM Nagar. Senthilnathan allegedly lit a sky-shot cracker in front of the Muniyappan temple, where a festival was held. The cracker fell on the third floor where the child was sleeping and exploded on her head. The family rescued the child, rushed her to Mettupalayam Government Hospital.
The child was provided first aid treatment and shifted to a private hospital in Coimbatore, where she underwent surgery on Tuesday, said a senior police officer. "The child's family had asked the suspect not to burst firecrackers citing the safety issues. Yet, the suspect lit the crackers near their house," the officer added.