Four Gorkha Rifles jawans injured in explosion

DEHRADUN: Four Gorkha Rifles jawans were injured today when a metallic object in their truck went off in the high security Garhi Cantonment area here.

The explosion took place when one of the jawans touched a metallic object kept at the back of the truck and it went off, Cantonment Police station SHO Kamlesh Namburi told PTI.

The jawan mistook the object about one-and-a-half inch long for a spare part of the vehicle and tried to lift it when it exploded in his hand injuring him and three of his colleagues, the SHO said.

While the wrist of the jawan in whose hand it exploded had to be amputated, the rest of them were discharged after first aid by the military hospital, he said.

The jawan who had to undergo the surgery is still at the hospital.

The truck had just left for from the 68 Gorkha Rifles Unit here to bring rations and had gone hardly about 50 to 100 yards within its campus when the explosion took place, the SHO said.

Investigations are on to find out as to how the object which could also be a used or dated ordnance product found its way into the truck, he said.

Sources at the SSP office earlier had said citing preliminary reports that it was a grenade explosion.

Garhi Cantonment where the explosion took place is a high security area with the official residence of the Chief Minister and Raj Bhawan located there.