A pleasant Tuesday evening turned into a nightmare in Khajapalli village under Kabisuryanagar police limits in Ganjam, Odisha. Two minor boys, identified as 14-year-old Om Prakash Bhuyan and 8-year-old Ganesh Bhuyan, were playing near their house when they spotted a spherical object lying on the roadside. Mistaking it for a play ball, they picked it up and began tossing it around.

The fun turned into a tragedy when the object—a live crude bomb—suddenly detonated in Om Prakash’s hands. The impact of the blast was so severe that it tore through the teenager’s palm and caused deep lacerations to his legs. Hearing the deafening explosion, villagers rushed to the spot and found the boys in a pool of blood.

The injured were immediately rushed to the Kodala Community Health Centre, from where Om Prakash was shifted to MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur due to his critical condition. Ganesh sustained minor injuries and is currently stable. The local police and a forensic team have launched an investigation to trace the source of the explosive and determine how it ended up in a residential area. The incident has left the local community in a state of shock and panic.