1 dead,3 injured as shell goes off

Suba Singh,a cousin of Avtar,said the incident occurred when Avtar was trying to open the steering wheel of his tractor.

When he could not open the steering,he asked his brother to bring a new tool which they had purchased from a scrap dealer at Sidhwan Bate village recently.

“The blast occurred when he hit it on the steering wheel. Nobody knew it was an unexploded shell,” he said,adding Avtar died on the spot.

His brother and nephew have been admitted to a private hospital in Jalandhar in serious condition,while son Anmol is said to be out of danger.

Police called the Army to the village to ascertain the cause of the blast.

SHO Mehatpur Bimal Kant said he visited Sidhwan Bate village and during investigation it came to light that scrap dealer Soni had sold the unexploded gun shell to the victims recently.

Police have booked Soni and further investigation is on.

The scrap dealer might have picked the shell from the river area where Army used to practice.