2 kids killed in Bihar as bomb stored at house of one of them goes off

BHAGALPUR: Two children were killed and two others sustained serious injuries at a village in Bihar 's Banka district , when a bomb stored at the house of one of the kids exploded on Friday night.

Qurban (8), son of Mohd Ismail Ansari of Ahiro village, succumbed to injuries soon after the blast at his house, while Sanaullah (5), son of Mohd Saddam, died during treatment on Saturday.

The injured children - Mohd Mustafa (10) and Abu Hanifa (7) - are undergoing treatment at a hospital in Bhagalpur.

The incident has sent police officials into a tizzy in view of the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, with polling in Banka scheduled for April 26.

"We have arrested accused Ismail and seized bomb-making materials from his house. Police are trying to know his motive behind manufacturing and storing crude bombs at his residences. A forensic team has collected blood samples and other evidence from the spot," said Banka SP Satya Prakash.

"We are looking into the accussed's criminal antecedents and are interrogating him to collect information about his links with criminal gangs. A police team is camping at the spot in view of sensitivity of the issue," the SP added.