Rajasthan teen dies as cracker explodes in pocket

JAIPUR: A 13-year-old boy from Surajgarh town in Rajasthan ’s Jhunjhunu district died Tuesday after a homemade firecracker exploded in his pocket, leaving him critically injured.

The teen, Himanshu , had allegedly made the explosive with a friend’s help by mixing sulphur and potassium — very commonly used materials in cracker manufacture — without their families’ knowledge. They placed the mixture in a glass bottle, planning to set off the homemade firecrackers later.

Himanshu’s mother Rekha said her son had borrowed Rs 100 from her, claiming he wanted to buy juice and chocolates.

However, he used the money to purchase sulphur and potash, grinding them together at home. His sister attempted to stop him, but he went ahead with his plan, pouring some of the mixture into a glass bottle and the remaining in a small bag. Himanshu then went to his uncle’s house nearby, where he and his friend began experimenting with the crackers.

Later, Himanshu stowed the glass bottle and bag in his pocket. “As per preliminary reports, the friend lit a firecracker, and a spark from it ignited the mixture in Himanshu’s pocket,” a police officer said.

The force of the blast was so severe that fragments from the bottle, combined with the explosion of the pocketed firecracker, tore through Himanshu’s left thigh.

Himanshu was rushed to a local hospital and later referred to Jaipur’s SMS Hospital due to his critical condition, where he succumbed Tuesday morning.