In a tragic incident, two of the children who were not even aware of what they were doing died when the explosive device that they found in a forest area of their village in Chhattisgarh’s Maoist-affected Bijapur district blew up unexpectedly. The child, who was not even aware that it was a bomb, hit it with a stone and, thus, caused the explosion.
Jitendra Yadav, the Bijapur Superintendent of Police, says that the IED had been planted by the Maoists who are known to work in the area. The victims have been pinpointed as Laxman Oyam, who is 13 years old, and Boti Oyam, who is 11 years old. The heart-breaking accident happened in Odsapara village, located under the Bhairamagadh police station in the Bastar region.
When the news of the incident reached the public, it was discovered that about 20 other children were also there, having hopped over there to get the tendu leaves. Regretfully, the doomed boys, playing innocently, found the shiny object and tried to open it using a stone, not knowing that this action would lead to a catastrophic explosion.
The Investigations are being conducted by the time tribal activist Soni Sori expressed her worries, hinting that the device may have been left by the police after a past meeting. The incident happened just days after a 12-hour-long rural operation that led to the death of 12 Maoists in the forests of the Pidia village in the same district.
This heartbreaking incident is a terrible lesson about the risks that children from conflict-affected areas are facing especially, and it is a clear warning that is shown of the danger they are in. The government is likely to conduct a comprehensive investigation of the incident to avoid such sorrowful incidents occurring again.
