Three school children were killed and another seriously injured in an explosion in Assam's Tinsukia district on Wednesday afternoon, a government official said.
Three children were killed and two other persons injured in an explosion at Digboi in Tinsukia district of Assam on Wednesday.
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"Three children were killed and two others, including a child, were injured in the explosion which took place opposite the Kharjan High School at Bor Torani village", Tinsukia Deputy Commissioner S S Meenakshi Sundaram said.
Assam Home Secretary G.D. Tripathy said a schoolboy was killed on the spot and two children who were injured died while being taken to hospital.
"The blast took place near a lower primary school at Kharjan near Digboi today (Wednesday). A schoolboy, who received critical injuries in the blast, is being treated at a local hospital," Tripathy said.
The exact cause of the explosion was yet to be ascertained. But as per preliminary investigation, Rinki's father had recently brought a suspicious object to his house. The children were playing with that object when it exploded.
The dead have been identified as Rimpi Kurmi (10), Sandhya Kurmi (5) and Rupesh Kurmi (5). The injured -- Bhanumoti Kurmi (25), Pushpanjali Kurmi (eight) -- have been admitted to the Tinsukia Civil Hospital.
About 550 km from Assam's capital Guwahati, Digboi is known as the state's oil township where crude oil was first discovered.
Tripathy said that there were inputs that the anti-talk faction of the United Liberation Front of Asom might try to carry out subversive activities in the district. "We are trying to find out if a militant outfit is behind the blast," he said.