Bareilly: An eight-month-old baby died on Sunday after the battery of a mobile phone kept next to her on charging mode exploded in Uttar Pradesh’s Bareilly.
According to a media report, the mother of the infant was not present in the room when the incident took place. The woman and her other daughter ran to the spot and found the baby lying with burn injuries and shouted for help.
The infant was rushed to a hospital, where she succumbed during treatment.
It has been alleged that the phone already had a swollen battery. It was plugged into a socket connected to a solar panel. The phone was purchased around six months ago, said reports.
The father of the child, Suneel Kumar Kashyap (30), a resident of Pachomi village under Faridpur police limits, is a labourer and lives in an under-construction house without a power connection. Hence, the family uses a solar plate and a battery for lighting and charging mobile phones.
“I was speaking to a neighbour when I heard my daughter Nandini shouting for help. The charpoy was ablaze because of the explosion. Neha was badly burnt. I never thought that my mobile phone could be deadly for my daughter, else I wouldn’t have kept it there,” the infant’s mother told TOI.
“The family refused to lodge a complaint and the body was given to them after due procedure. Our investigation found that the baby girl was injured because of the mobile phone explosion. The family said that it was an accident and didn’t want to press any charges,” Faridpur police station SHO Harveer Singh told mediapersons.
In a similar incident, a YouTuber, who goes by the name MD Talk YT, claimed on social media that her aunt allegedly died after her Redmi 6A smartphone exploded near her on the bed while sleeping in the Delhi-NCR region.
A few screenshots of the explosion were also shared on social media. Xiaomi replied in a tweet, saying the company is working to reach out to the impacted family and investigate the situation.
