A bomb planted under a bridge killed eight civilians yesterday, a day after police found the crude device, but left it under sandbags until it could be defused. Another bomb blamed on suspected rebels killed the eastern Indian state’s top disposal expert and a soldier as they were trying to dismantle it.
The bomb planted under the bridge by suspected Maoist rebels had been found on Saturday, but could not be defused immediately, said Neelmani, a top police officer who uses one name.
The area was cordoned and the bomb placed under sandbags, but yesterday, teenage boys and men pulled the bomb out from under the sandbags and “fiddled” with it, Neelmani said. All five -teenagers and three men were killed. Two other men were injured and hospitalized.
The explosion occurred in Pachokhar village in Aurangabad district of Bihar state. Neelmani also blamed suspected rebels for a bomb that exploded in the adjoining Gaya district on Saturday, killing Bihar’s leading explosive disposal expert and a paramilitary soldier as they tried to defuse it.
Aurangabad and Gaya districts held state legislative elections on Saturday. More than 50 percent of voters turned out, defying a boycott called by Maoist rebels.
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