'Accidental' Bomb Blast in Jehanabad Jail; 3 Injured
Patna: Mar. 28, 2007
Raising the specter of the 2005 high profile jail break, officials and prisoners at Jehanabad Jail went into a panic mode when a Bihar Military Police (BMP) jawan, during the cleaning of his weapons, dropped a grenade causing a large enough explosion to seriously injure himself and two other persons on Wednesday, officials in Patna said.
The incident occurred at around 8:40 pm when BMP jawan Bharat Thapa was engaged in cleaning up his weapons and the grenade. As reported, he accidentally pulled the safety pin of the grenade. He, however, realized his mistake and lobbed the grenade in a small sandy area.
The explosion, however, was so strong that it injured Thapa, another BMP jawan Ramchandra Pokhrail, and Babita Devi, a female visitor who was there to see an inmate.
While Pokhrail was taken to a local hospital, both Thapa and Babita Devi were rushed to the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) in critical conditions.
Prisoners, ever ready to create a ruckus at the drop of the hat, staged a riot attacking the law enforcement officials with stones, bricks, and other objects while accusing the BMP jawans of trying to kill them.
District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar Agrawal and Superintendent of Police (SP) Shahrukh Majid rushed to the jail and managed to quell the riot without any serious damage or injury.
A departmental investigation has been initiated to understand what exactly went on and if any action would be taken against the erring BMP jawan.

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