A 10-year-old boy died in northwest Delhi’s Narela area after a hand-held ‘anar’ firecracker exploded in his hand during Diwali celebrations, police said. The incident took place outside his home at around 9.45 pm on Sunday.
According to police information cited by Millennium Post, the boy sustained injuries to his chest in the explosion and died at the spot. Police received information from a hospital at around 10.50 pm that the child had been brought dead with burn injuries suffered in a firecracker incident.
The boy had reportedly been bursting the firecracker in front of his house when it exploded. A purported video of the incident shows him holding the firecracker before the blast. The impact appears to have thrown him backwards, according to the report.
The hospital has stated that the child was brought dead. His family, however, has disputed the account and alleged that he was still breathing when they took him for treatment. The boy’s elder brother alleged that hospital staff did not make adequate efforts to save him.
“He was my younger brother. He was bursting a firecracker when it happened. We took him to the hospital, but the staff did not do much to save him. My father’s health also started deteriorating,” the elder brother was quoted as saying.
The family also alleged that they were not allowed to take the boy’s body and that police moved it to an undisclosed location. “My brother could have been saved. I know he was still breathing. They did not do anything to save him,” the brother alleged.
The allegations about the child’s condition on arrival at the hospital and the treatment provided have not been independently established in the supplied report. Police sent the body for post-mortem examination, which is expected to document the cause of death and the injuries sustained.
The incident has highlighted the immediate safety risks associated with handling fireworks, particularly those designed to produce a fountain-like burst when placed on the ground. In this case, the firecracker was reportedly being held in the child’s hand when it exploded.
The next official step is the post-mortem examination. The police investigation will also determine the circumstances of the explosion and examine the competing accounts about the child’s condition when he was taken to hospital.
