Child's fingers blown off as bomb explodes while playing with a ball in Birbhum

A peaceful Saturday afternoon turned into a scene of unimaginable horror in Purandarpur village under Suri Block 2, Birbhum district when a 12-year-old Mangal Ankur picked up a ball while playing with his brother outside their house, only for it to explode and rip apart his fingers of right hand below the elbow. The massive blast left the little boy running home screaming, blood pouring while his shocked grandmother quickly gathered the severed fingers and then stuffed in a plastic bag and rushed him to to Suri Super Specialty Hospital.

Doctors are battling to save the remains of his arm, but the damage is so severe that the child may lose his hand permanently.Mangal’s mother Kakoli Ankur was serving lunch inside when she heard the deafening explosion. She ran out to see her son coming towards her with his right arm completely mangled and hanging by threads of skin. “I was arranging lunch for my children and suddenly I heard a loud sound. I came out and saw my boy running with his hand dangling,” she wept.

Neighbours who heard the blast thought that might be a gas cylinder had exploded, but soon realised it was a powerful bomb lying unnoticed near the Kalitala area where children were playing today afternoon. Suri police station officers have cordoned the spot and recovered fragments of the explosive, trying to find out who left such a deadly device in a residential area. The family plans to file a formal complaint once their child is stable. Villagers are terrified, saying the quiet lane has now become a place of fear for every child. This incident in Birbhum serves as a stark reminder raising serious questions about how bombs are reaching civilian areas.