Carbide Gun horror in Bengal: Atleast 10 child about to lose their eyesight permanently

In the quiet lanes of Harshankar area in Tamluk, Purba Medinipur, what began as innocent excitement for Kali Puja spiraled into unimaginable horror when a third-grade boy, Nishikanta Rana, damaged his right eye due to the burst of a homemade carbide gun he crafted along with his brother—guided step-by-step from a social media viral video. The 3rd grader boy, whose father works at a local gas cylinder shop and mother rolls beedis to run the household, had teamed up with his fifth-grade sibling Nisith to build the carbide gun from a simple plastic bottle, dreaming of festive fun amid Kali Puja-Diwali. But the accident took place shattering the plastic bottle and hurling straight into Nishikanta's right eye, leaving him admitted in critical condition at Tamralipta Medical College.

Doctors warned of permanent blindness, a cruel twist in a story that's echoed across West Bengal, where at least nine other children in Malda now affected and all are on the edge of lose their eyesight permanently. Tamluk's Rana family, once buzzing with the boys' cheerful antics, now echoes with his mother's anguished sobs as she recounts the tragedy: She stated that both his sons were hooked on social media, buzzing about this new handmade carbide gun from viral cracker videos amid Kali Puja-Diwali, but begged them not to use that flimsy plastic bottle for the carbide gun as it was too risky. Despite the parents' pleas, the brothers pressed on,blending carbide scraps with the plastic bottle. Police probing the incident, urging families to monitor screens more vigilantly.

As Nishikanta fights for any sliver of recovery in the hospital's sterile hush, his story ripples outward like the blast itself, fueling urgent calls from medics and communities for safeguards against such digital dynamite—perhaps age gates on tutorials or school-wide warnings on hazardous hacks. In a state where festive joy often dances on the edge of danger, this Tamluk tale isn't isolated; it's the latest flare in a Bengal-wide blaze of similar scare in Malda as well, from Madhya Pradesh where this carbide gun curses have affected around 320 children before.