Bridegroom Among Two Killed In Wedding Gift Box Blast

Balangir: A bridegroom and his grandmother died while the bride sustained grievous injuries when a wedding gift box exploded in their house at Bholanathpada of Bramhapura village under Patnagarh police limits in Odisha’s Balangir district on Friday.

The deceased have been identified as Soumya Sekhar Sahu and his grandmother Jemamani Sahu while the bride Rimamani Sahu is battling for her life at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) in Burla.

Son of a lecturer Rabindra Kumar Sahu Bholanathpada, Soumya got married on February 18.

However, tragedy struck in the afternoon on Friday when Soumya with his wife and grandmother were seriously injured after one of the gift boxes that they were opening suddenly exploded.

The trio was rushed to Patnagarh government hospital where the doctors declared Jemamani as received dead. As the condition of Soumya worsened, he was shifted to Ispat General Hospital in Rourkela, where he died. The condition of Reena at VIMSAR is stated to be critical.

Talking to mediapersons, Patnagarh SDPO Sesadeba Bariha said the family members had received a parcel bomb in the guise of the gift packet on Friday which exploded while being opened.

Meanwhile, a forensic team and dog squad of Balangir Police have reached the spot and started an investigation into the incident.

Preliminary investigation has revealed that the gift box was sent from Raipur in Chhattisgarh.

“We are trying to identify the person who had sent the packet,” police said.